Reviewed by Kim Bickerdike
The theatre is very conveniently situated less than a 5 minute walk from Lime Street Train Station and next door to the Bus Station. It is quite a cosy theatre with a small stage and the layout at first was confusing trying to work out what was intended but it did become clear as it proceeded.
The Habit of Art is a play written by Alan Bennett and it seemed that many in the audience knew his works quite or very well and this is a play about a play which is being rehearsed and relates to two well-known artists of different vocations set in 1972.
The opening 5 minutes or so are quite complex as John Wark as Donald was attempting to set the scene with all the cast scurrying about, changing their clothes and having some general chit chat. However, when this settled the scene was a rehearsal of a play where the main characters were W H Auden, a poet, and Benjamin Britten, a composer. Matthew Kelly was an ageing pompous actor Mr Fitzpatrick who was playing Auden and didn’t always remember his lines and David Yelland was playing as Britten. What had also occurred is that the director had been delayed in Leeds leaving a nervous writer, assistant director together with the prompter all having a say as to how the play could be improved much to the annoyance of Mr Fitzpatrick.
They, Auden and Britten, met after a period of 30 years, when they were in New York together in 1942 and now meeting up in Auden’s untidy accommodation in Oxford in 1972 with Britten having the trappings of success with chauffeur driven limousines.
The dialogue was typical Alan Bennett with superb use of the English language with some caustic humour and rarely used descriptive phrases which were as the rehearsal rolled on became more understood as to what had happened to the two men in the intervening period. There was some bad language and much of the subject matter referred to the sexuality of both men and who they had befriended in the past 30 years and who they had seen in recent times, with J R Tolkien and Philip Larkin both being mentioned sometimes in glowing terms and other times not so much.
The performance of Matthew Kelly was quite remarkable for the length of time he is speaking and acting, and it is only in the second half that David Yelland comes to the fore. During all this time the supporting cast are all performing professionally and all act their part perfectly. There is a scene in the rehearsal where Donald who is playing Mr Carpenter a biographer of Auden and Brittan wants to show his other talents and he appears playing a musical instrument, very badly, whilst dressed up in drag, this caused the audience to erupt with laughter as it was so off the wall and typical tongue in cheek Alan Bennett. He didn’t repeat any of his other talents.
This is a play for a mature audience especially with the language and subject matter and will probably be enjoyed by those who like Bennett and anybody wanting to see theatre acted in a totally acted in a totally professional manner in the atmosphere of a small English theatre.
Rating: 4.5/5
Tickets cost from £10 to £35 (booking fees may apply).
The Habit of Art is at the Liverpool Playhouse from 23-27 October 2018, for more information or to book tickets visit www.everymanplayhouse.com or call the box office on 0151 709 4776
Liverpool Playhouse,
