What IS the habit of art?? Is it the routine, the regular, daily regimes that actors put themselves through? the boredom of leaning lines and rehearsing plays? or is it simply art repeating itself, or art for art's sake? Does it apply solely to artists / creatives? or can this phrase be extended to include everybody? Certainly it's a curious title, and the phrase itself is used twice within the play, both times by the same character, an ageing disgracefully actor playing the role of W H Auden. It's very hard to tell whether the phrase is meant to represent Auden's, the actor's or Bennett's viewpoint here.
Certainly the habit of art can be ascribed to the rehearsal process of a play, especially a play that has the writer in attendance and writing new script for it as they go along. That is exactly what is happening in this play. Instead of writing a play called 'Caliban's Boy', Bennett writes a play about the rehearsing of the play called 'Caliban's Boy'. There is a certain conceit in this technique, but one which lends itself to some witty and caustic typically Bennett back-biting. It also gives the actors opportunity to offer two points of view - one as themselves (the actor) and the other as the character they are playing (in 'Caliban's Boy') and this leads to some lovely moments of self-exposition and gives us, the real audience, an insight not only into the machinations of the theatrical process, but also of those who commit themselves to a profession of doing the habit of art.
The stage set is extremely detailed and realistic (Adrian Linford). We are in a church hall or similar and the theatre company who are rehearsing this play are quite clearly on the bottom rungs of small-scale perhaps touring theatre. The lines blurred between what we could accept as suspension of disbelief and reality when we are met with such circumstances as the director not being present at a rehearsal [I have never known that happen in all my time in the profession], two cast members are also absent, [the rehearsal would undoubtedly have been cancelled or postponed] and no-one has thought to inform the playwright that they would like to cut certain chunks of dialogue from his script - and seem to have already made the decision to do so without his knowledge or acceptance. [a highly dubious pretext - but I assume possible since Bennett himself is a playwright and has undoubtedly sat in on many rehearsals of his own works].
The play within the play despite being highly clever - an imagined meeting between W H Auden and Benjamin Britten in their twilight years - fails to capture our imagination. Perhaps that is why Bennett felt it necessary to put it rehearsal stages and make a play around it. we do learn quite a bit about both Auden and Britten though (mind you whether the anecdotes and references are true or not is another matter). We do know though that both were homosexuals, and both lived at a time when this was illegal in this country - and the Caliban play is set in the early 1970s, very shortly before their respective deaths and only a few years after the decriminalisation of this act; but even so, to be so open about rent boys, sitting naked on the side of the baths of bathing young choir boys, being in love with a 14 year old boy, and sucking off, did seem to be both stretching and over-doing a point.
There are places in the script where the dialogue does seem somewhat laboured, but am uncertain as to whether that is the intention - to make the playwright of the play within the play different from Bennett. Overall it is a very congenial play (not a comedy - but certainly with some very clever one-liners and put-downs worthy only of Bennett) but a play, I assume, that would undoubtedly appeal more to those who have knowledge of or interest in the habit of theatrical art more than those who know nothing about theatre and how it works.
Matthew Kelly is wonderfully cantankerous and suitably scruffy as Fitz / W H Auden, whilst David Yelland's beautifully timed subtle gestures and eye movements and perfectly measured effeminate gait made Henry / Benjamin Britten come alive. Kelly had the largest part and occupied our attention, but it was Yelland's understated 'less is more' technique which captivated. Funnily I could also hear Bennett speaking both of their lines!
John Wark, Alexander Guelff, Veronica Roberts, Benjamin Chandler and Robert Mountford completed this cast of actors playing actors, playwrights, and stage managers. Highly skilled and enjoyable to a man.
It is an entertaining and pleasurable watch, but I do worry that Bennett is perhaps trying to be just a little too clever with this play.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 12/11/18
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