| "A Chip in the Sugar" | |||
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| Talking Heads episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
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| Directed by | Stuart Burge | ||
| Written by | Alan Bennett | ||
| Production code | 1.1 | ||
| Original air date | 19 April 1988 | ||
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| List of episodes | |||
A Chip in the Sugar is a dramatic monologue written by Alan Bennett in 1987 for television, as part of his Talking Heads series for the BBC. The series became very popular, moving onto BBC Radio, international theatre, becoming one of the best-selling audio book releases of all time and included as part of both the A-level and GCSE English syllabus[1]. It was the first episode of the first series of Talking Heads and the only one which featured Alan Bennett as a character.
Contents |
Middle-aged Graham Whittaker (who we learn is a repressed homosexual with a history of mild mental health problems) finds life becoming complicated as his mother, with whom he still lives, reunites with an old flame named Frank Turnbull. Graham becomes increasingly jealous when Mr Turnbull takes an ever-growing hold on Mam and his black and white, right wing opinions on things such as race and mental illness. Mr Turnbull proposes to Graham's mother and suggests that Graham moves out of the house to a hostel. But Mr Turnbull is hiding a secret, and when Graham finds out he triumphantly confronts his mother with the information, restoring the status quo and his comfortable life but destroying her hopes of happiness in the process. Mr Turnbull is already married, lying to different women and eloping with them. At the end of the monologue everything returns to normal between Graham and his mother.
Many have praised Alan Bennett's portrayal of the character of Graham, with David Tuck saying "His [Alan Bennett's] understanding of a northern English dialect is exemplary."
For his role in the episode, Alan Bennett received a nomination at the 1989 BAFTA Awards, for Best Actor
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