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 25 years, they are observed and interrupted by, amongst others, their future biographer and a young man from the local bus station.
After a sell-out success in London, Alan Bennett’s latest play visits Birmingham. It looks at the unsettling desires of two difficult men, and at the ethics of biography. It reflects on growing old, on creativity and inspiration, and on persisting when all passion’s spent: ultimately, on the habit of art.
The last time the National Theatre brought Bennett to Birmingham was with the smash-hit The History Boys – so early booking is recommended!
Main House
- Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2EP, West Midlands, England
- Box Office: 0121 236 4455
Susan Dean from Blackwell, Worcestershire
Hi
Very much looking forward to the performance. I've always been interested in Britten. I have his autograph & once sang in a performance with Peter Pears as soloist
Only a month to go but no mention of the cast - surely you must know by now!!
Tim
Tim Walton from Birmingham
Hi Tim,
W.H. Auden will be played by Desmond Barrit and Benjamin Britten will be played by Malcolm Sinclair.
Clare from The REP
Will there be an audio described performance of Habit of Art with a touch tour? I notice you've got a captioned one!
Norma Bond from Brum
Norma, I'm afraid not. The next audio described performances will be Enron on 25 September and The Cherry Orchard on 30 October.
Clare from The REP
We thoroughly enjoyed Enron and look forward to Habit of Art but ........... no mention of running time on your website. How long is the play? This may seem trivial to many but we need to know for parking/house sitting reasons.
Thankyou
Ann Prosser from Atherstone
Hello Ann. Glad to hear you enjoyed ENRON. The running time for Habit of Art is 2 hours 25 minutes including the interval.
Brilliant! Well done Rep for booking such first class theatre productions. Already booked 12 tickets for 'Habit of Art'. Rep's 'History Boys' was enjoyed more than production I saw at National Theatre in London by the way. Much livlier.