Product Description

Alan Bennett stars in a new production of his own acclaimed satrical comedy, thirty years after its original West End debut.

The Headmaster has been at Albion House for fifty years, man and boy. Now he is retiring and takes part in the end-of-year entertainment for the last time. Entitled Speak For England, Arthur, it weaves together a multi-generational story of England: the glorious era at the turn of the century, when the summers were always golden; the fast-living inter-war years peopled by the Bloomsbury Group; and the growing cynicism of a country going to war twice in so many decades.

Tongue-in-cheek, the play-within-a-play prompts an outraged response from the Headmaster, who can only see his beloved standards being mocked. Yet within the parody lies an almost-painful nostalgia for a more peaceful age and the timeless misunderstanding of one generation by another.

Clever, funny and poignant, Alan Bennett's masterful play is rightly regarded as a modern classic.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #261155 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-02
• Released on: 2003-06-02
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Audiobook
• Binding: Audio CD

Synopsis
This version of Alan Bennett's popular stage play, starring Sir John Gielgud, Alan Bennett and Paul Eddington, is paired with one of his famous monologues starring Patricia Routledge as Margaret.

Customer Reviews

One of the best bits of material from Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is possibly one of the BBC's best narrators. He has written and also narrated this piece with immense feeling and humour. I laughed a lot whilst listening to this and it was not just because of the way he told it. He has written other great pieces such as 'Talking Heads' and has also written about other encouters that have taken place in his life. Along with these other title this is an excellent buy and one you can listen to over and over. Others that you maybe interested in would be 'Alice in wonderland' and others that he has narrated. I must say that Alan has done a great job with this and I am now a Bennet fan.
Others you may enjoy:
'Three men in a boat' By Jerome K.Jerome
'The clothes they stood up in' Alan Bennett