Talking Heads – The Outside Dog & The Hand of God

A series of monologues, funny and poignant, normally from two to four of these would be performed at a time. A Cream Cracker Under The Settee tells of an old woman who has a fall, but her pride doesn’t allow her to accept help. Bed Among the Lentils tells of a woman with a drink problem, married to a vicar who exploits her recovery actually caused by an affair with an Indian shopkeeper. A Lady of Letters is the story of a woman obsessed with writing letters of complaint and reporting her neighbours who eventually finds comfort in prison. Soldiering On is the tale of a well-to-do woman who finds one day that she’s a widow and her husband has left her ill equipped to handle her own affairs – and her son loses her money in bad investments.

The Outside Dog – Marjory hates her husband Stuart’s dog, Tina. He likes to take the dog out late, arriving home at midnight, clothes straight in the wash, then comes naked to bed and makes insistent demands on her. Meanwhile, there’s a killer on the loose, and the police arrive. Rochenda Sandall plays Marjory. The Hand of God – Unable to shift a refectory table she’s had in stock for far too long, Celia laments that the antiques business is all about money these days, and she despises nobody more than the barrow boys at Christies. Though proud of her eye for the hidden gems that lay hidden in the houses of local pensioners, she discovers she’s less of an expert than she thought she was. Kristin Scott-Thomas plays Celia.