Say Something Happened

by Alan Bennett

The social services department of the council is preparing a register of the elderly in the area and eager but green June Potter (recently transfered from transport) is despatched to gather information while obtaining some hands-on-experience. Mam and Dad are in their 60s and therefore must be in need of registering - but Mam and Dad, perfectly alert, able-bodied and streetwise have no intention of being registered. Thrown by Mam's no-nonsense approach, the increasingly desperate June resorts to Mr Farquarson's detailed notes on Conducts of Interviews, while Mam sorts her out. This comic, ironic look at patronizing bureaucracy was first televised in 1982.

21 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Alan Bennett is an English author and Tony Award-winning playwright. Bennett's first stage play, Forty Years On, was produced in 1968. Many television, stage and radio plays followed, along with screenplays, short stories, novellas, a large body of non-fictional prose and broadcasting, and many appearances as an actor. Bennett's lugubrious yet expressive voice (which still bears a slight Leeds accent) and the sharp humour and evident humanity of his writing have made his readings of his own work (especially his autobiographical writing) very popular. His readings of the Winnie the Pooh stories are also widely enjoyed.

Reviews

[Plum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened and initially it was like listening to actual grandparents. My heart swelled every time they referred to each other as ‘Mam’ and ‘Dad’ and with their long established routines (opening the door). The assault on the nostalgia remained brutal, and I loved it. The characters had so much depth. Alan writes these people so well.

[Mack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bittersweet, like some chocolate. No laughter, no tragedy: the bittersweet parts of youth and age are truly mixed.

[Anton Segers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Matig luisterspel van Alan Bennett, over hoe ambtenaren omgaan met ouderen, met veel oppervlakkig geklets en een paar leuke replieken.
Korte lengte is een lastig genre, vraagt grote trefzekerheid.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melancholy.