The National Theatre indulges The Habit of Art at the Grand!

Ellsworth, Maine - The Grand announces the next in a series of high-definition encore performances from  The National Theatre of London – a presentation of The Habit of Art, starring the late Richard Griffiths (the Harry Potter films’ “Uncle Vernon” and star of both the play and film adaptation of The History Boys) as the poet W. H. Auden, in Alan Bennett’s acclaimed look at creativity and inspiration, on Thursday, November 7th at 2 pm. General admission tickets are $17 for adults, $15 for seniors, $14 for Grand members, $12 for students, and $10 for youth 12 and under, and are available at The Grand Box Office, by phone (207) 667-9500, or online at www.grandonline.org.

National Theatre Live’s 2010 broadcast of Bennett’s 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 (Jennings), facing difficulties with his new opera Death in Venice, seeks advice from his former collaborator and friend, the poet W. H. Auden (Griffiths). During this imagined meeting, their first for twenty-five 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 is spent: ultimately, on the habit of art.

So bring a friend and share the experience of a play The New York Times’ Ben Brantley called a “compassionate satire of the whims, follies and fears of show people”- NT Live’s HD encore of The Habit of Art on screen at The Grand.

The Grand is proud to be presenting NT Live, a series of high definition simulcasts and encore performances from The National Theatre of London, which includes the upcoming high definition presentation of Shakespeare’s searing tragedy of political manipulation and revenge Coriolanus, with Tom Hiddleston (“Loki” of The Avengers and Thor, the film version of War Horse, and BBC’s The Hollow Crown) in the title role and Mark Gatiss (Season’s  Greetings at the National Theatre and “Mycroft Holmes” on BBC’s Sherlock) as Menenius, on January 30th at 2 pm.

A full schedule can be found online at www.grandonline.org. Or follow The Grand on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Grand-Auditorium/112755987339.