Two-hander
{{Short description|Play, film, or television programme with only two main characters}}
{{distinguish|Two-handed (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2020}}
File:Harold Pinter's - The Dumb Waiter - presented by Stairwell Theater - 2019.jpg]]
A two-hander is a term for a play, film, or television programme with only two main characters.{{cite web |url=https://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=slanguage_result&slang=two-hander&page=Slanguage&display=two-hander |title=Slanguage Dictionary Results - Two-hander |publisher=Variety |accessdate=2008-06-19}} The two characters in question often display differences in social standing or experiences, differences that are explored and possibly overcome as the story unfolds.{{cite news|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2010/09/crouching-duck-hidden-draper-mad-men-season-4-episode-7.html|title=Crouching Duck, Hidden Draper: Mad Men Season 4, Episode 7|last=Wolcott|first=James|date=6 September 2010|work=Vanity Fair|accessdate=7 September 2010}}[https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/09/29/arts/20100930_Penn_slideshow-5.html 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. Instances of two-handers may include theatre, film, television episodes, television series, and radio.
Radio
- The Bickersons
- Ethel and Albert consisted mostly of two-handers.
- John Finnemore's Double Acts
- Vic and Sade{{efn|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.}}
Television series
- Dinner for One (1963){{efn|Originally a 1934 theater sketch, this 18-minute videotape of one performance is rebroadcast every Christmas or New Year's in parts of Europe.{{cite news |author=E.P. |title=People all over the world watch "Dinner for One" on New Year's Eve |date=2020-12-30 |work=The Economist |department=Culture |url=https://www.economist.com/prospero/2020/12/30/people-all-over-the-world-watch-dinner-for-one-on-new-years-eve |access-date=2025-04-21 |url-access=subscription}}}}
- Un gars, une fille (1997)
- Head Case (2007)
- Web Therapy (2008)
- In Treatment (2008)
- Roger & Val Have Just Got In (2010)
Television episodes
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
- Bottom: "Contest", "Culture", "Hole"
- Breaking Bad: "Fly"
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine: "The Box"
- Family Guy: "Brian & Stewie", "Send in Stewie, Please"
- Mad About You: "The Conversation"
- Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: "4,722 Hours"
- Neighbours: Episode 8052, Episode 8325
- Porridge: "A Night In"
- The Twilight Zone: "Two"
}}
Theatre
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
- The Stronger (1889)
- Hughie (1942)
- The Fourposter (1951)
- Two for the Seesaw (1958)
- The Zoo Story (1959)
- The Dumb Waiter (1960)
- Happy Days (1961)
- The Blood Knot (1961)
- Dutchman (1966)
- I Do! I Do! (1966)
- Same Time, Next Year (1975)
- The Gin Game (1976)
- The Woods (1977)
- Talley's Folly (1980)
- Duet for One (1980, also filmed in 1986)
- Educating Rita (1980)
- Mass Appeal (1980)
- 'night, Mother (1982)
- The Woman in Black (1987)
- The Meeting (1987)
- Love Letters (1988)
- Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (1987)
- A Walk in the Woods (1988)
- The Secret of Sherlock Holmes (1988)
- Oleanna (1992)
- Lonely Planet (1993)
- John & Jen (1995)
- Stones in His Pockets (1996)
- The Blue Room (1998)
- Vincent River (2000)
- Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (2001)
- The Last Five Years (2001)
- Topdog/Underdog (2001)
- A Number (2002)
- Adrenalin...Heart (2002)
- Tuesdays with Morrie (2002)
- The Sunset Limited (2006)
- The Story of My Life (2009)
- A Steady Rain (2007)
- The Mountaintop (2009)
- Red (2009)
- Venus in Fur (2010)
- Lungs (2011)
- In a Forest, Dark and Deep (2011)
- Tender Napalm (2011)
- Constellations (2012)
- Between the Sheets (2012)
- The Anarchist (2012)
- China Doll (2015)
}}
== Opera ==
- Love Counts (2005)
Film
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
- Heaven Knows, Mr Allison (1957)
- Dutchman (1966)
- Hell in the Pacific (1968)
- Sleuth (1972)
- Same Time, Next Year (1978)
- My Dinner with Andre (1981)
- Enemy Mine (1985)
- 'night, Mother (1985)
- The Caller (1987)
- Closet Land (1991)
- The Mozart Bird (1993)
- Oleanna (1994)
- Interview (2003)
- Before Sunset (2004)
- In Bed (2005)
- Conversations with Other Women (2005)
- Sleuth (2007)
- Interview (2007)
- Moon (2009)
- Venus in Fur (2013)
- The Sunset Limited (2011)
- 28 Hotel Rooms (2012)
- Some Velvet Morning (2013)
- Creep (2014)
- Blue Jay (2016)
- The Pass (2016)
- Love All You Have Left (2017)
- Destination Wedding (2018)
- The Lighthouse (2019)
- The Two Popes (2019)
- Friend of the World (2020)
- Malcolm & Marie (2021)
- Together (2021)
- Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)
- 65 (2023)
- The Dive (2023)
- What Happens Later (2023)
- Daddio (2024)
}}
Notes
{{notelist}}