Lesley Manville delivers an assured display in the tale of Susan, a vicar’s wife who has been compulsively dipping into the communion wine★★★★☆For those of us who believe that Alan Bennett is our greatest living writer, the pandemic has brought a silver lining. With business as usual suspended for the time being, Nicholas Hytner’s Bridge Theatre has now embarked on live performances of eight of Bennett’s TV monologues, featuring the actors who appeared on the small screen. A sceptic might wonder if some atmosphere would be lost without close-ups and cunning changes of camera angle. But if this opening double-bill is anything to go by there is no need to worry. Over the course of 75 minutes (there is the shortest of intervals to allow a discreet set change) Monica Dolan and Lesley Manville draw us

Source: The Times September 09, 2020 00:22 UTC