Hand Of God, by Alan Bennett, with Eileen Atkins monologue
Вставка
- Опубліковано 8 жов 2015
- Eileen Atkins stars as Celia, a cautious seller of old furniture and clocks, in Alan Bennett's spellbinding monologue The Hand of God, a perfectly paced 32-minute gem.
Filmed in half-a-dozen simple scenes set in a modest antiques shop, the story involves Celia's daily battle to keep the stock moving. Celia is an antiques dealer who just about manages to make a living but with stock ever harder to come by. Then one day Celia lucks into a Good Samaritan relationship with Miss Ventriss, a dying woman who owns a home stocked with treasures. It's almost more than Celia's honest, if avaricious, conscience can bear.
As in many of Bennett's pieces, the story develops in a miraculous direction that gives it the taut impact of a fable -- or at least the sober moral of a cautionary tale.
YOU MUST HOWEVER WATCH THIS ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO APPRECIATE THE BRILLIANCE AND IRONY OF THIS LITTLE SAGA.
If you enjoyed this monologue, PLEASE do yourself a service and check out these other brilliant Bennet works.... A Woman of no Importance, A Lady of Letters, Ms. Fozzard finds her Feet, Soldiering On, A Chip in the Sugar, Bed Among the Lentils, Waiting for the Telegram, A Cream Cracker under the Settee, The Outside Dog... they are all some of my favorite words ever put to paper!
"Teddy bears are a minefield!" love that line.
Wow, what a powerful story of hubris!
She had me at "at aging Volvo half way across England" It's wonderful how she portrasy Celia in such a way that we see her flaws, her snobbery, her contempt, and yet how easy it is to develop some compassion for this character. I think she lives in all of us.
I found this really gripping and a little ironic, but that’s what makes Alan Bennett such a great writer. He knows how to keep the audience attention.
I like it because you can hear every single glittering word.
Oh the irony that the trick of pretending to be interested in something other than what you are really interested in, that Celia talks loftily of at the beginning, is then played on her by the ‘young blood from Christie’s’ who buys the frame with the Michelangelo encased. Brilliant writing by Alan Bennett. I remember watching this when it was first shown on the BBC way back in 1988 and being enthralled.
Absolutely brilliant...
These monologues are just marvelous. So typically, and perfectly Bennett. I adore them.
Such a wonderful actress, She invites you into her world and you find yourself, there inside with her, without having noticed how/when it happened.
she is so funny xxx
Alan Bennett. Brilliance with a pen.
The height of brilliant acting paired with brilliantly observed writing -- her every nuance, furrowed or arched brow, sneer, and there are hundreds in this brief piece - how DOES she do it? So .... meaty!
There is nothing like a real actor, a seasoned and intelligent actor, who knows what she's doing and has good material. Eileen Atkins should live forever. First time I saw her was in the seventies on TV with Richard Chamberlain in "The Lady's Not for Burning," which sometimes gets posted on UA-cam. She was lovely and as good as I'd heard she was supposed to be. Oh, god. I will never get to see her on stage. Damnit.
I just did, 3 days ago. I came away thinking "My God, you can't 'see' her acting - at all, ever. Same as in this short piece
"Beetroot slacks." "Wizened egg custard."
Holy cow !!!!! What a twist. Yikes! Terrific storytelling.
I love it! Sells the chutney after all!!
I agree, Alan Bennett is brilliant in his portrayal of life...
so clever,so subtle ,so enjoyable .Thanks Alan and you for sharing.
Dame Eileen Atkins is mesmerizing. Thank you for posting this.
that was wonderful
I saw this onstage in New York, 15 or 20 years ago, and was reminded of it recently--thought 'Wonder if that's on UA-cam"--of course it was. I don't think it was Atkins I saw. I think it was someone less renowned--but as I remember it the performance was actually better. The ending wasn't so strictly pathetic--the character mixed pathos with a rueful self-awareness, She felt sorry for herself, but couldn't hide a hint of acknowledgement that she got what she deserved. She appreciated the irony. I don't feel that here.
Edit---An internet search reveals the actress I saw was Brenda Wehle. I've never heard of her and she doesn't have a Wikipedia page. She apparently won an Obie for her performance, though, and on one night, at least, she was better than the illustrious Eileen Atkins (in my amateur opinion).
Thank you for posting this. Alan Bennett is a treasure and Eileen Atkins is simply brilliant!
Splendid! Both the program, and Eileen Atkins - none better than she.
Thank you for posting it. Alan Bennett is my all-time hero :)
Very Bennett. Witty , very bleak , human
Absolutely brilliant!
BRAVO!!!
So lovely, so funny...I have to go now, but I can't wait to get back and experience more of Ms Atkin's enthralling work...
Brilliant!
Very enjoyable. Thank you.
Brilliant. Love it.
Teddy bears are a minefield.
Nasty vampire. Brilliant piece.
I won't touch pictures. I've seen too many fingers burned.
Dame Eileen is great in "Doc Martin" also.
exelent.
She is in Doc Martin as his Aunt
Damn - how sad.
a tisket a tasket! lol
❤
I wasn't particularly warming up to the character, but in the end I was rather sorry. Not so much about the hand of god, but more about the chutney. Dame Eileen is incomparable, of course.
An extraordinary actress, starring in an extraordinary monologue. It's as slowly and subtly built as it is deliciously wicked in terms of her character's comeuppance. Best wishes!...