Two-hander

Two-hander is a term for a play, movie, 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

Theatre

• Vigil by Morris Panych
• The Stronger (1889) by August Strindberg (This play is also an example of a dramatic monologue.)
• Pariah (1889) by August Strindberg
• 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
• Same Time, Next Year (1975) by Bernard Slade
• The Gin Game (1976) by D.L. Coburn
• Talley's Folly (1980) by Lanford Wilson
• Duet for One (1980, filmed in 1986), by Tom Kempinski
• Educating Rita (1980) by Willy Russell
• Some Men Need Help (1982) by John Ford Noonan
• The Woman in Black (1987) by Stephen Mallatratt
• Love Letters (1988) by A. R. Gurney
• 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
• Freud's Last Session (1999) by Mark St. Germain
• The Last Five Years (2001) by Jason Robert Brown
• A Number (2002) by Caryl Churchill
• adrenalin...heart (2002) by Georgia Fitch
• The Story of My Life (2006) 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
• Red (2009) by John Logan
• Venus in Fur (2010) by David Ives
• In a Forest, Dark and Deep (2011) by Neil LaBute
• Constellations (2012) by Nick Payne
• Between the Sheets (2012) by Jordi Mand^[4]
• The Anarchist (2012) by David Mamet
• The Velocity of Autumn (2013) by Eric Coble
• China Doll (2015) by David Mamet

Film

• My Dinner with Andre (1981) by Louis Malle
• Sleuth (1972) by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
• Moon (2009) by Duncan Jones
• Interview (2007) by Steve Buscemi

Television

• Porridge: "A Night In" (Series 1, episode 3)
• EastEnders two-hander episodes
• Maude; several episodes (such as "Maude's Night Out" and "The Convention") featured only the characters of Maude and Walter
• In Treatment portrays the relationship between a psychotherapist and his clients, so most episodes are entirely or primarily two-handers.
• Dinner for One (1963) by Lauri Wylie, a one-off TV special traditionally associated with New Year's Eve in central Europe
• "Brian & Stewie", episode of Family Guy
• Four Star Playhouse episode Award, featuring an only two cast members.
• Episode 6361, featuring Ricky Sharpe and Darryl Braxton.

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

"Almost" Instances

• Beirut (1987) by Alan Bowne
• Driving Miss Daisy (1987) by Alfred Uhry^[5]
• Before Sunrise (1995) by Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan
• Lost in Translation (2003)
• Collateral (2004)
• Blackbird (2005) by David Harrower
• The Empty Planet (2010)
• Gravity (2013)
• The One I Love (2014)
• Whiplash (2014)
• Cyberbully (2015)
• Ex Machina (2015), by Alex Garland

References

1. "Slanguage Dictionary Results - Two-hander". Variety. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
2. Wolcott, James (6 September 2010). "Crouching Duck, Hidden Draper: Mad Men Season 4, Episode 7". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
3. 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.
4. "What's On: Between the Sheets", Nightwood Theatre
5. Gussow, Mel, "The Stage: Driving Miss Daisy", The New York Times, April 16, 1987. Retrieved 2011-02-15.