Triangle - a monologue for three characters - by James Saunders (1965)First performance at the Close Theatre, Glasgow, September 1965, with the following cast -
© 1968 James Saunders published by Andre Deutsch, (London, England), 1968 (Neighbours and other plays - James Saunders) ISBN-10: 0233960309 ISBN-13: 978-0233960302 also contains Neighbours + Trio + Alas, Poor Fred + Return to a City + A Slight Accident + The Pedagogue © 1968 James Saunders published by Heinemann Educational Books, (London, England), 1968 (Neighbours and other plays - James Saunders) ISBN-10: 0435237861 ISBN-13: 978-0435237868 also contains Neighbours + Trio + Alas, Poor Fred + Return to a City + A Slight Accident + The Pedagogue commentary by Ronald Hayman Triangle: one man on the stage, a prompter in the audience, and the invisible presence of a psychiatrist and of the playwright; a delightful dizzying variation on the theme of free will. - (inside cover, Andre Deutsch, 1968) As the play begins, our Actor is undergoing psychoanalysis. Oh yes, the psychiatrist is imaginary. It soon becomes clear that the Actor is involved in a piece of experimental theatre. The nature of the experiment is that he has been given 20 minutes of script, and contracted to perform for at least 40 minutes. As a result, his scathing wit has free reign as he meanders from text to improv and back again. One more thing - he has an insatiable appetite for whisky, and is close to a nervous breakdown. Fun for all the family. Top Banana - synopsis - Val Widdowson A superbly witty, totally hilarious one-man show, with a sting in its tail. An actor reveals his innermost secrets, as he works his way through a bottle of whisky and a packet of cigarettes. Subjects covered include religion, psychiatry, philosophy, alcohol and the very nature of theatre itself, all with scathing and barbed wit. You'll laugh 'till you cry. Top Banana - review When I interviewed James Saunders at the time of "Making It Better", he mentioned that he'd heard of some chap in the West Country who did it with real whisky, which wasn't what he'd intended at all. That chap was Val Widdowson... who at the time had been living in Bristol. His performances were remarkable. Today [7th January 2006] would have been his 50th birthday... "Triangle" was Val's signature piece, as it were. I once played the Prompter for him in one late-night show when he'd also done a matinee - he didn't quite sober up and the play, which is supposed to last 40 minutes and pretends to contain material for only 20, dragged out to 85 mins! The strange thing was that it didn't seem sloppy, but rather as if he were making excruciating use of every pause. Then, after his final exit, came a muffled but unmistakable thud from offstage...! - Ian Shuttleworth |
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