To the National to see Alan Bennett's "The Habit Of Art". We had fifth row seats, close enough to see the spray of the actors spit. They were £10, in case you're wondering. The play's based on a theoretical meeting between W.H. Auden and Benjamin Britten in later life at Oxford where they have an extensive kickaround on the theme of biography, the distinction between the artist and the art, pederasty, the old ladies of Aldeburgh, old age and the fact that many men come to resemble their scrotums. It's presented as an afternoon's rehearsal of the play with the actors coming in and out of character and also discussing their trade. Daughter two nudges me when the first player turns out to be Adrian Scarborough, the put-upon husband of "Gavin and Stacey". What she doesn't know is that he's alongside Uncle Monty from "Withnail And I", the vicar from "Cranford" and that the woman playing the stage manager was once Miss Jones to Leonard Rossiter's Rigsby. The stage, in fact, is seething with characters and types that we have lived with for quite a long time. Billy Wilder said that most actors had a couple of things they could show you but then their shelves were cleared. Blessed are those who have a narrow range of notes (we're not going to see Richard Griffiths playing a holy man, for instance) but can nonetheless stir us again and again.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
The best actors play the tunes we never get tired of hearing
To the National to see Alan Bennett's "The Habit Of Art". We had fifth row seats, close enough to see the spray of the actors spit. They were £10, in case you're wondering. The play's based on a theoretical meeting between W.H. Auden and Benjamin Britten in later life at Oxford where they have an extensive kickaround on the theme of biography, the distinction between the artist and the art, pederasty, the old ladies of Aldeburgh, old age and the fact that many men come to resemble their scrotums. It's presented as an afternoon's rehearsal of the play with the actors coming in and out of character and also discussing their trade. Daughter two nudges me when the first player turns out to be Adrian Scarborough, the put-upon husband of "Gavin and Stacey". What she doesn't know is that he's alongside Uncle Monty from "Withnail And I", the vicar from "Cranford" and that the woman playing the stage manager was once Miss Jones to Leonard Rossiter's Rigsby. The stage, in fact, is seething with characters and types that we have lived with for quite a long time. Billy Wilder said that most actors had a couple of things they could show you but then their shelves were cleared. Blessed are those who have a narrow range of notes (we're not going to see Richard Griffiths playing a holy man, for instance) but can nonetheless stir us again and again.
Oh, I don't know - I can see Richard Griffiths as one of those corrupt Renaissance cardinals that Browning wrote about.
ReplyDeleteAnd, in fact, Richard Griffiths played a vicar in Inspector Morse once... fairly convincing in dog collar etc, if not as convincing as Keith Allen's satanist from the same episode
ReplyDeleteThe most commanding on-stage presence I've ever seen was Sir Ralph Richardson nailing the role of Sir Ralph Richardson like no other actor before or since.
ReplyDeleteI saw him playing Ralph Richardson playing Shylock in 1967. He was brilliant.
ReplyDeleteAlan Bennett writes play containing references to pederasty. Front page not held.
ReplyDeleteThere is of course much to admire about Bennett but I find this recurring theme troubling. This piece in the Independent by Johann Hari is an interesting analysis.
I read Hari's piece, and it reminded me of something I thought about The History Boys, which was how completely unrealistic its depiction of boys of that age was. Each young character just seemed to be a variation on a theme of Bennett himself. I can't imagine many young men who would respond with amused tolerance to the teacher's groping. The whole thing seemed designed as a justification for an inappropriate relationship between a teacher and his pupils.
ReplyDeleteI have nothing interesting to say; just stunned at the ticket price. Maybe I can justify a plane ticket considering the cost of the show.
ReplyDelete