The Habit of Art: A Play

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 twenty-five years, they are observed and interrupted by, among 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.

Author: Alan Bennett
Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
Published: 09/14/2010
Pages: 114
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.25lbs
Size: 8.25h x 5.50w x 0.30d
ISBN: 9780865479449

About the Author

Alan Bennett is a renowned playwright, essayist, and storywriter whose play The History Boys won six Tony Awards. He is also the author of the Academy Award-nominated screenplay The Madness of King George. He lives in London, England.