Two-hander
A two-hander is a term for a play, film, or television programme with only two main characters.[1] The two characters in question often display differences in social standing or experiences, differences that are explored and possibly overcome as the story unfolds.[2][3]
Instances
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Theatre
- The Stronger (1889) by August Strindberg (also dramatic monologue.)
- Pariah (1889) by August Strindberg
- Hughie (1942) by Eugene O'Neill
- Two for the Seesaw (1958) by William Gibson[3]
- The Zoo Story (1959) by Edward Albee
- The Dumb Waiter (1960) by Harold Pinter
- Happy Days (1961) by Samuel Beckett
- The Blood Knot (1961) by Athol Fugard
- Dutchman (1966) by LeRoi Jones
- Same Time, Next Year (1975) by Bernard Slade
- The Gin Game (1976) by Donald L. Coburn
- The Woods (1977) by David Mamet
- Talley's Folly (1980) by Lanford Wilson
- Duet for One (1980, filmed in 1986), by Tom Kempinski
- Educating Rita (1980) by Willy Russell
- Mass Appeal (1980) by Bill C. Davis
- 'night, Mother (1982) by Marsha Norman
- Some Men Need Help (1982) by John Ford Noonan
- The Woman in Black (1987) by Stephen Mallatratt
- The Meeting (1987) by Jeff Stetson
- Love Letters (1988) by A. R. Gurney
- Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (1987) by Terrence McNally
- A Walk in the Woods (1988) by Lee Blessing[4]
- Oleanna (1992) by David Mamet
- John & Jen (1995) by Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald
- Same Time, Another Year (1995) by Bernard Slade (sequel)
- Disco Pigs (1996) by Enda Walsh
- Stones in His Pockets (1996) by Marie Jones
- Vigil (1996) by Morris Panych[5]
- The Blue Room (1998) by David Hare
- Freud's Last Session (1999) by Mark St. Germain
- Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (2001) by Richard Alfieri
- The Last Five Years (2001) by Jason Robert Brown
- A Number (2002) by Caryl Churchill
- Adrenalin...Heart (2002) by Georgia Fitch
- Tuesdays with Morrie (2002) by Mitch Albom and Jeffrey Hatcher
- The Sunset Limited (2006) by Cormac McCarthy
- The Story of My Life (2009) by Neil Bartram and Brian Hill
- A Steady Rain (2007) by Keith Huff
- Follow Me (2008) by Ross Gurney-Randall and Dave Mounfield
- it felt empty when the heart went at first but it is alright now (2009) by Lucy Kirkwood[6][7][8]
- Red (2009) by John Logan
- Venus in Fur (2010) by David Ives
- Keeper (2015) by Tanisha Taitt
- In a Forest, Dark and Deep (2011) by Neil LaBute
- Constellations (2012) by Nick Payne
- Between the Sheets (2012) by Jordi Mand[9]
- The Anarchist (2012) by David Mamet
- The Velocity of Autumn (2013) by Eric Coble
- Sex With Strangers (2014) by Laura Eason
- China Doll (2015) by David Mamet
- Guards at the Taj (2015) by Rajiv Joseph[10]
- Topdog/Underdog (2001) by Suzan-Lori Parks
Film
- Heaven Knows, Mr Allison (1957) by John Huston
- Dutchman (1966) by Anthony Harvey
- Hell in the Pacific (1968) by John Boorman
- Sleuth (1972) by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
- Alpha Beta (1974) by Anthony Page
- Same Time, Next Year (1978) by Robert Mulligan
- My Dinner with Andre (1981) by Louis Malle
- The Caller (film) (1987) by Robert Allan Seidelman
- Summer Night in Town (1990) by Michel Deville
- Oleanna (1994) by David Mamet
- Before Sunset (2004) by Richard Linklater
- Primer (2004) by Shane Carruth
- In Bed (2005) by Matias Bize
- Conversations with other women (2005) by Hans Canosa
- Interview (2007) by Steve Buscemi
- Moon (2009) by Duncan Jones
- Venus in Fur (2013) by Roman Polanski
- The Sunset Limited (2011) by Tommy Lee Jones
- Some velvet morning (2013) by Neil LaBute
- Blue Jay (2016) by Alex Lehmann
- Destination Wedding (2018) by Victor Levin
- 7:20 Once a week (2018) by Matias Bize
- The Lighthouse (2019) by Robert Eggers
- The Two Popes (2019) by Fernando Meirelles
Television episodes
- All in the Family: "Two's a Crowd" (Season 8, Episode 19)
- Bottom:
- Breaking Bad: "Fly" (Season 3, Episode 10)
- Brookside:
- Episode 1103 (29 May 1992)
- Episode 2432 (23 May 2001)
- Episode 2570 (19 August 2001)
- Coronation Street:
- Episode 4745a (2 January 2000)
- Episode 6519 (25 March 2007)
- Dinner for One (1963) by Lauri Wylie, the most frequently repeated TV programme ever
- EastEnders two-hander episodes
- Emmerdale:
- Episode 2754 (28 September 2000), featuring Paddy Kirk and Mandy Dingle
- Episode 3143 (28 March 2002), featuring Bernice Blackstock and Ashley Thomas
- Family Guy:
- "Brian & Stewie" (Season 9, Episode 17)
- "Send in Stewie, Please" (Season 16, Episode 12)
- Four Star Playhouse: "Award" (Season 3, Episode 38)
- Home and Away: Episode 6361 (15 February 2016), featuring Ricky Sharpe and Darryl Braxton.
- Mad About You: "The Conversation" (Season 6, Episode 9)
- Maude:
- "Maude's Night Out" (Season 1, Episode 22)
- "The Convention" (Season 1, Episode 14)
- Miranda: "Just Act Normal" (Series 2, Episode 5), featuring Miranda and Penny in a therapy session following an unfortunate incident involving ice cream, a policeman, a teacher and their 30 pupils.
- Neighbours : Episode 8052 (5 March 2019), featuring Toadfish Rebecchi and Sonya Rebecchi in which the latter dies from cancer.
- Please Like Me: "Scroggin'" (Series 2, Episode 7), featuring Josh (Josh Thomas) and Rose (Debra Lawrance) hiking through the woods following the suicide of their friend. Thomas won an AACTA Award for Best Screenplay in Television for writing the episode and Lawrance won an AACTA Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy for her portrayal of Rose. The episode also received accolades from both the Australian Writer's Guild and Australian Directors Guild.
- Porridge: "A Night In" (Series 1, Episode 3)
- The Twilight Zone: "Two" (Season 3, Episode 1), featuring Elizabeth Montgomery and Charles Bronson
- Fair City: Episode (19 April 2017), featuring then-married couple Paul and Niamh.[11]
Television series
- Head Case (2007) by Alexandra Wentworth
- Web Therapy (2008) by Lisa Kudrow
- In Treatment (2008) by Rodrigo Garcia
Radio
- John Finnemore's Double Acts
- Vic and Sade began as a two-hander series and often returned to the format after a third character was added when one of the three took a day off
References
- ^ "Slanguage Dictionary Results - Two-hander". Variety. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
- ^ Wolcott, James (6 September 2010). "Crouching Duck, Hidden Draper: Mad Men Season 4, Episode 7". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ a b Caption for still from William Gibson’s play "Two for the Seesaw." Photo credit Arthur Cantor; from "Looking Back at Arthur Penn" slide show; The New York Times, September 30, 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ^ "A Walk in the Woods". Playbill. 1988.
- ^ Stasio, Marilyn (30 September 2009). "Vigil".
- ^ Gardner, Lyn (20 October 2009). "It Felt Empty When the Heart Went at First But It Is Alright Now - Theatre review". the Guardian.
- ^ "it felt empty when the heart went at first but it is alright now - Drama Online". www.dramaonlinelibrary.com.
- ^ "Lucy Kirkwood interview: 'I worry a lot about the things I write'".
- ^ "What's On: Between the Sheets", Nightwood Theatre
- ^ "Dramatists Play Service, Inc". www.dramatists.com.
- ^ https://www.breakingnews.ie/showbiz/heres-what-everybody-had-to-say-about-fair-citys-explosive-episode-786474.html