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A Visit From Miss Prothero
A play from Office Suite.
- GenresPlays
22 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
23 people want to read
About the author
Alan Bennett
278 books1,124 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 21, 2020
Trigger warning, see ** You can read or listen to this play free here . This review might be considered a spoiler, it gives away all "the action". But there is no action. There is no plot, there are no surprises, it's all a brilliant character study presented as a play. The writing is as Alan Bennett's always is, genius. I listened to it. The acting was genius too.
We all know that self-righteous, judgemental person who has no life, whose gets great pleasure in bringing others down with their constant moaning, maliciously repeating gossip and in their mean-spirited manner chipping away at the self-confidence of whoever is their target. This is Miss Prothero.
She goes to visit her old boss, Mr. Dodsworth, a widower, who retired three months before and finds a happy man who has joined clubs, is learning cordon bleu cooking and pottery and enjoying family visits. She can't stand this. She chips away at his happiness. Everything positive he says, she knocks back. She is malicious about staff he would have known. She is disrespectful about his late wife, dislikes his music, ignores his budgie even! There is no area of his life she leaves unsullied by her hatred of all she doesn't have.
And what does she have? Not a thing. Not family. Not friends. Not hobbies. **She even rubbishes reading as a waste of time, just an escape, only for people with dreadful, boring lives who have nothing to do and no other form of entertainment. OMG Miss Prothero, if I hadn't hated you, you narrow-minded bitch, I would have now. But actually I did. She should be sentenced to 12 hours a day of forced Pornhub, that would make her curl up and die.
But she leaves triumphant. She has told her former boss just how the pride and joy system he set up in work has been rubbished and replaced by one that is so much more efficient, that his successor has come in and changed his style of management, from the top the bottom. In other words, your 30 years of work were substandard, you have nothing to be proud of, old man, and now I have a bus to catch.
One phrase stood out. When Miss Prothero was talking of the father she despised who was now totally disabled from a stroke and the ever-upbeat Mr. Dodsworth says that he will still have his memories, that just because you lose half your body doesn't mean you lose half your mind. "If you can't remember it, how do you know if you've forgotten it?" (That's not always true. Where did I put my glasses?"
It's 30 minutes of Alan Bennett bliss and free here
We all know that self-righteous, judgemental person who has no life, whose gets great pleasure in bringing others down with their constant moaning, maliciously repeating gossip and in their mean-spirited manner chipping away at the self-confidence of whoever is their target. This is Miss Prothero.
She goes to visit her old boss, Mr. Dodsworth, a widower, who retired three months before and finds a happy man who has joined clubs, is learning cordon bleu cooking and pottery and enjoying family visits. She can't stand this. She chips away at his happiness. Everything positive he says, she knocks back. She is malicious about staff he would have known. She is disrespectful about his late wife, dislikes his music, ignores his budgie even! There is no area of his life she leaves unsullied by her hatred of all she doesn't have.
And what does she have? Not a thing. Not family. Not friends. Not hobbies. **She even rubbishes reading as a waste of time, just an escape, only for people with dreadful, boring lives who have nothing to do and no other form of entertainment. OMG Miss Prothero, if I hadn't hated you, you narrow-minded bitch, I would have now. But actually I did. She should be sentenced to 12 hours a day of forced Pornhub, that would make her curl up and die.
But she leaves triumphant. She has told her former boss just how the pride and joy system he set up in work has been rubbished and replaced by one that is so much more efficient, that his successor has come in and changed his style of management, from the top the bottom. In other words, your 30 years of work were substandard, you have nothing to be proud of, old man, and now I have a bus to catch.
One phrase stood out. When Miss Prothero was talking of the father she despised who was now totally disabled from a stroke and the ever-upbeat Mr. Dodsworth says that he will still have his memories, that just because you lose half your body doesn't mean you lose half your mind. "If you can't remember it, how do you know if you've forgotten it?" (That's not always true. Where did I put my glasses?"
It's 30 minutes of Alan Bennett bliss and free here
July 25, 2018
A retired man of thirty years experience in a company finds it harder to let go than he has anticipated.
August 13, 2022
This short but sweet book contains a couple of Alan Bennett plays that are designed to both be performed on the same billing. They’re about life at an office and reminded me of Something Happened by Joseph Heller, but more British and northern. Cool!
January 3, 2024
Langzaam demarrerend maar met veel wijsheid afgerond hoorspel over de overgang van carrière naar pensionering, over de afstand die je al dan niet van je werk kunt nemen. Een hoogst irritante secretaresse komt bij haar gepensioneerde baas op bezoek, en dan ontwikkelt zich een machtsstrijd…
September 9, 2019
This trickle feeds poignancy, in the most delicious manner.
April 23, 2013
Typical Bennett dialog but story of a man retired from his obsessions with office work after 30 years fails to sparkle.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews