Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Double vision | 25 November 2009

The Habit of Art<br /> Lyttelton Cock<br /> Royal Court Upstairs

issue 28 November 2009

The Habit of Art
Lyttelton

Cock
Royal Court Upstairs

Here’s my theory. Alan Bennett alighted on Auden and Britten as a promising theme. Two interesting old poofs collaborating on an opera shortly before their deaths. The first draft turned out to be static, chat-heavy and lacking in dramatic movement. Start again. Write a play about a company of actors rehearsing the Auden/Britten play. That’s better. That loosens things up. It adds gags. It adds layers, too. If we get bored with Auden and Britten we can watch the actors break character and make comments, discuss historical details and complain about the sorts of things actors complain about.

The chap playing Auden’s biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, wants to beef up his role so he begs the writer to give him a cameo as a cross-dressing tuba player. That’s funny, sort of.

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