Mine has to be The History Boys by Alan Bennett and yes this is partly from the joy of it seeing staged (sorry Quill!) as well as what I've taken from reading it. I came out of the theatre thinking and knowing I will never, ever have the talent or intelligence to write a play like that, not in a million years and I didn't care because I was just glad I could see it. If I am honest I actually enjoy seeing bad plays too, then at least I can see hope for myself! I also got a signed copy for Xmas which was cool.
I saw the National's production and it was the best new play I've ever seen. I've always been a big fan of Bennett's watching and reading everything he's put out there. I even love listening to him read Wind in the Willows on BBC radio. To me the History Boys showed Bennett at his best, he is a incredibly clever writer who has the common touch of containing big ideas within recognisable and sympathetic characters and connecting with a wide audience without ever patronising them. Like Stoppard he comes from an academic background but unlike Stoppard his work feels always to be driven by characters rather than characters stumbling beneath ideas. Sorry to be dragging Tom Stoppard into this but last month I saw Rock 'n' Roll and HATED it for those reasons (and many more)
Right, I'm going to stop bitching about Stoppard who is clearly an incredible talent just sometimes, not always, he makes me want to slap him. Also, anyone wanting to experience near perfect monologues should check out Bennett's Talking Heads. I remember watching Bennett's work on TV as a kid with my whole non theatre going family and it being an event. He made me interested in characters, seeing stories revealed in layers.
This speech from History Boys made me almost cry when I saw it performed and I think it is also relevant to this thread. It is spoken by Hector a school teacher to one of his pupils.
"The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours."