Theatre399 entries
The Habit of Art
Opens: 05/11/2009 Closes: 19/05/2010
National Theatre, London
Alan Bennett's new play reminisces on the nature of a life in the arts via a series of imagined meetings. Featuring more ageing heavyweights than you can shake a stick at, Benjamin Britten seeks advice from old friend WH Auden. Michael Gambon has been replaced by Richard Griffiths as Auden.
For more information visit: http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/51766/productions/the-habit-of-art.html Buy: https://ticketing.nationaltheatre.org.uk/production.aspx?performanceNumber=11639Page [1]
80 %
Time Out“Wrapped in layer upon layer of intelligent anxiety...” Bennett fans should enjoy the literary frisson, the theatrical cosiness, and the intellectual honesty. But this post-modern postscript to great lives in writing lacks the solidity and acutely observed sympathy for the little man...
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100%
The Independent“Full of lovely observant comedy...” Nicholas Hytner directs with an unerring instinct for the volatile nature of the material in a cracking production that flirtatiously keeps the audience up to speed with the outrageous amount of information and allusion...
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80 %
Financial Times“A rich, meditative work, endlessly witty and yet ultimately sad...” The downside is that the play itself is too cerebral, self-referential and frustrating: you want to get close to the subject and can’t. But that is partly the point...
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80 %
The Stage“At times it feels contrived...” It’s a complicated play and with its esoteric references to Tippett, Spender, Larkin, Peter Pears, Death in Venice and the rest, some of its finer points will be lost on some theatregoers, although the first night audience lapped them up...
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60%
this is london“Although Bennett savours his material, he doesn’t make it sing...” The performances are proficient, and Nicholas Hytner’s direction is fluid. However, lurking awkwardly inside this rather contrived creation is a different, more emotionally resonant play. It’s a shame that it’s been submerged...
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100%
The Telegraph“Deeply and unexpectedly moving...” I can think of few plays that combine wild laughter, deep emotion and technical ingenuity with such bravura. The Habit of Art is a smash hit if I ever saw one...
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60%
The Times“The result is only thematically a muddle...” Even the excellence of Richard Griffiths and Alex Jennings can’t stop one feeling that Bennett doesn’t fully trust his material. He isn’t confident that his portraiture can sustain a full-length play...
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100%
Whatsonstage.com“A brilliant, witty and highly enjoyable meditation...” There are two great conversational scenes between Auden and Britten but Nicholas Hytner’s superbly light-fingered production is really an exercise in the open-ended, provisional nature of all theatre, with a rousing defense of the medium...
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80 %
Guardian“Has the characteristic Bennett mix of wit and wistfulness...” Bennett's play is at its strongest when it deals with the theme implicit in its title: the idea that, for the artist, creativity is a constant, if troubling imperative. We see this in the beautifully written encounter between Britten and Auden...
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