National Theatre Live: The Habit of Art (2010)
Synopsis
National Theatre Live’s 2010 broadcast of Alan Bennett’s acclaimed play The Habit of Art, with Richard Griffiths, Alex Jennings, and Frances de la Tour, returns to cinemas as part of the National Theatre's 50th anniversary celebrations. 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. Alan Bennett’s play is as much about the theatre 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. One of the first five episodes also released on terrestrial TV on a 2009 BBC TV series titled "National Theatre Live".
Release Date: 2010-04-22
Runtime: 145 minutes
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Top Cast
- Richard Griffiths as Fitz / W. H. Auden
- Alex Jennings as Henry / Benjamin Britten
- Frances de la Tour as Kay
- Stephen Wight as Tim / Stuart
- Philip Childs as Brian
- Elliot Levey as Neil
- John Heffernan as George
- Barbara Kirby as Joan
- Martin Chamberlain as Ralph
- Laurence Belcher as Young Boy
Soundtrack
Original Music Composer(s): N/A
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