By Alan Bennett
Directed by Philip Franks
With Matthew Kelly, Stephen Boxer, Benjamin Chandler, Jessica Dennis, Robert Mountford, Veronica Roberts, and John Wark
Original Theatre (Caroline’s Kitchen, Brits Off Broadway 2019; Invincible, Brits Off Broadway 2017) return to 59E59 Theaters with the New York premiere of The Habit of Art by one of Britain’s most prolific playwrights Alan Bennett (The History Boys, The Madness of King George, and Talking Heads).
Benjamin Britten, sailing uncomfortably close to the wind with his new opera, Death in Venice, seeks advice from his former collaborator and friend, W.H. Auden. During this imagined meeting, their first for twenty-five years, they are observed and interrupted by, amongst others, their future biographer and a young man from the local bus station.
The Habit of Art looks at the unsettling desires of two difficult men, and at the ethics of biography. Exploring friendship, rivalry, and heartache this multi-layered masterpiece examines the joy, pain, and emotional cost of creativity.
We are the Original Theatre Company and we have been touring extensively all over the UK (and as far as the US) since 2004 and have become one of the leading digital theatre producers in the UK. We love to make theatre. We love to tell stories. But most of all we love to thrill, excite and engage audiences.
Read more at: www.originaltheatre.com
"Delectably smart, gently moving" –The New York Times, Critic's Pick
"Mr. Bennett works his usual magic"
"Engaging...brilliant"
"A layered examination of the creative process and of grappling with the complicated legacies of titans." –The New York Sun
"Admirably ambitious"
"Bennett's wit sparkles throughout" –TheaterMania
★★★★ "A new favorite"
"Bennett's gift for hilarity, for ribaldry within gravitas, remains."– NY Stage Review
"Stylishly and cleverly directed by Philip Franks"
"All of the cast members... bring their excellent acting and comic skills into making THE HABIT OF ART the ensemble piece that it was meant to be."
"Definitely worth a look!" – News Notes Dance
"Fun for theater lovers"
"All performances are miraculously restrained while being energetic."– Queer Forty
"Rich in detail"
"Bawdy, exhilerating tribute to the theater"– OffOffOnline
"Imagined with precision and observed with sympathy"
"The actors, who brilliantly speak Bennett's magnificently quotable dialogue, are perfection, both individually and as an ensemble, with Matthew Kelly's mordantly hilarious Auden and Veronica Roberts' acidly amusing Kay leading the way."– Film Festival Traveler
"Original Theatre's production is outstanding."
"The revival gives American audiences the rare opportunity to appreciate Bennett's play – in my estimation an equal to The History Boys – in its full glory."– Interludes
"A flawless production by the Original Theatre Company - and very smartly directed by Philip Franks."– Cinema Stage
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