National Theatre Live
High-definition broadcasts by London's National Theatre, presented in partnership with UMS and the Michigan Theater
The Habit of Art
A new play by Alan Bennett
Directed by Nicholas Hytner
Sunday, May 9, 7 pm
Michigan Theater
| Adult | $22 |
| Michigan Theater members/UMS subscribers & donors | $18 |
| Students | $12 |
“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.” (Daily Telegraph)
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 in 25 years, they are observed and interrupted by, amongst others, their future biographer and a young man from the local bus station.
Alan Bennett’s new play is as much about the theater as it is about poetry or music. 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.
Bennett is one of the UK’s most prolific and best-loved playwrights, whose work includes The Madness of King George and The History Boys, which both began as plays at the National Theatre and have been made into films.
UMS and the Michigan Theater have joined forces to bring high definition screenings of live theater broadcasts by London’s National Theatre to Ann Arbor. In the US, these screenings are delayed broadcasts to accommodate the time difference. Broadcasts will also feature behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with actors.
The Habit of Art contains adult content and is not suitable for children under 15 years.
