BENNETT'S UNTOLD STORIES SAY MUCH OF LIFE TODAY AND YESTERDAY

With his typical wit and wisdom, Alan Bennett's double bill of playlets speaks softly and sincerely of memories, childhood, fading life and bygone times. Derived from his 2005 collection of diaries and essays, Untold Stories presents a pair of autobiographical recollections. Renowned playwright and screenwriter, Alan Bennett's works include The History Boys, People and The Madness of George III. Bennett's character is outstandingly played by Alex Jennings, three-time Olivier award winner.

WHAT ARE THESE UNTOLD STORIES?

The first of the double bill, directed by Nadia Fall and accompanied by a string quartet playing George Fenton's evocative score, Hymn is a look into the role that music played in Bennett's childhood. Whether through the hymns he sang at school, memories of concerts at Leeds Hall, or his nostalgic reminiscences of his father - both butcher and accomplished violinist - teaching him to play.

Cocktail Sticks, directed by Nicholas Hytner, is a tender and comic series of imaginary conversations with his parents. Drawing from themes and conversations of Alan Bennett's memoir A Life Like No Other, Cocktail Sticks takes a rueful glance at parents' mortality and things left unsaid, yet simultaneously ponders his parents' social awkwardness and the embarrassment he experienced as a child and young man.