Thursday-Sunday, September 20-23, 2pm, 7pm
San Miguel Playhouse, Av. Independencia 82
$250

Playwright and humorist Alan Bennett, a "national treasure" in the words of The Independent (London), reached his peak with Talking Heads, a collection of droll, sad, hilarious, touching one-act, one-character plays. Ben Brantley, drama critic for the New York Times, describes Talking Heads this way: "Portraits of the Eleanor Rigbys of the world venting their obsessions and grievances....The audience is hooting with laughter."

Between Thursday, September 20, and Sunday, September 23, the San Miguel Playhouse is presenting Talking Heads ("Five by Bennett"), five one-act plays from the collection. Four actors — Lola Smith, Henrietta Weekes, Phoebe Greyson, and Maggie Bunce — perform the five short plays in two separate programs. A ticket purchase for one program entitles you to a discount for a ticket to the other program. To buy online tickets for Program 1, Program 2, or all five plays in a discount package, go to sanmiguelplayhouse.com. Tickets are also on sale at Boleto City, Mercado Sano, 2nd Floor (Ancha de San Antonio 123), every day except Sun. and Mon. between 1pm & 4pm. This event is general admission, no reserved seating.

If Program 1 (three plays) is the matinee, then Program 2 (two plays) is the evening performance — and vice-versa. A ticket for each individual program is 250 pesos; but if you buy a ticket for one program online, at the box office, or at the theater, you can purchase a ticket for the alternate program for 150 pesos.

Program 1 (matinees: Sept. 20th & 22nd; evenings: Sept. 21st & 23rd) In "Waiting for the Telegram," veteran San Miguel actor Lola Smith plays Violet, a woman in a nursing home awaiting a congratulatory telegram in honor of her birthday — provoking long-ago memories of a time when telegrams brought news of death on a battlefield. In "The Hand of God," Henrietta Weekes is Celia, a covetous antiques dealer who brazenly aids elderly neighbors for the sole purpose of acquiring their treasures on the cheap when they die. And in "Bed Among the Lentils," Phoebe Greyson portrays Susan, an alcoholic vicar's wife who is having an affair with a grocer.

Program 2 (matinees: Sept. 21st & 23rd; evenings: Sept. 20th & 22nd) Maggie Bunce stars in "Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet," about a middle-aged matron in an unorthodox relationship with her chiropodist, who pays her to model a variety of shoes to suit his own kinky purposes. In "A Woman of No Importance," Phoebe Greyson plays Peggy, a woman who reigns over the photocopier in a large office complex, and considers herself a vital cog in the wheels of order and bureaucracy — a cheerful self-delusion that persists after her failing health lands her in the hospital.

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