{"title":"Alan Bennett","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"people","title":"People","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA sale? Why not? Release all your wonderful treasures onto the open market and they are there for everyone to enjoy. It's a kind of emancipation, a setting them free to range the world... a saleroom here, an exhibition there; art, Lady Stacpoole, is a rover.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePeople spoil things; there are so many of them and the last thing one wants is them traipsing through one's house. But with the park a jungle and a bath on the billiard table, what is one to do? Dorothy wonders if an attic sale could be a solution.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePeople\u003c\/em\u003e premieres at the National Theatre, London, in October 2012.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs with Alan Bennett's previous two plays, \u003cem\u003eThe History Boys\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Habit of Art\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePeople\u003c\/em\u003e will open in the Lyttelton Theatre in a production directed by the National's artistic director Nicholas Hytner.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e-\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e How're you doing?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e-\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e Not sure.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e-\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e Well why don't you get on the mobile to your dick and find out.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goldsboro Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47263714312486,"sku":"9780571296880","price":65.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4900\/5606\/files\/65269218-089a-40ff-9800-5713cb0885e6.jpg?v=1701083934"},{"product_id":"hymn-and-cocktail-sticks","title":"Hymn and Cocktail Sticks","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlan Bennett writes: In 2001 the Medici Quartet commissioned the composer George Fenton to write them a piece commemorating their thirtieth anniversary. George Fenton appeared in my play \u003cem\u003eForty Years On\u003c\/em\u003e and has written music for many of my plays since, and he asked me to collaborate on the commission. \u003cem\u003eHymn\u003c\/em\u003e was the result. First performed at the Harrogate Festival in August 2001, it's a series of memoirs with music. Besides purely instrumental passages for the quartet, many of the speeches are under-scored, incorporating some of the hymns and music I remember from my childhood and youth. The text includes both words and music. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHymn\u003c\/em\u003e is coupled with \u003cem\u003eCocktail Sticks\u003c\/em\u003e, an oratorio without music that revisits some of the themes and conversations of Alan Bennett's memoir \u003cem\u003eA Life Like Other People's\u003c\/em\u003e. A son talks to his dead father as his mother yearns for a different life. It's funny, tender and sad. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe pinnacle of my social life is a scrutty bit of lettuce and tomato and some tinned salmon. Mind you, I read in \u003c\/em\u003eIdeal Home\u003cem\u003e that if you mix tinned salmon with this soft cheese you can make it into one of those moussy things. Shove a bit of lemon on it and it looks really classy. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goldsboro Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47264070598950,"sku":"hymn-and-cocktail-sticks","price":150.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4900\/5606\/files\/ea001e58-4662-4377-b9f7-4814405d7d85.jpg?v=1701091872"},{"product_id":"untold-stories","title":"Untold Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003eHere, at last, is the astonishing sequel to Alan Bennett's classic \u003cem\u003eWriting Home\u003c\/em\u003e, in a beautiful hardback edition.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eUntold Stories \u003c\/em\u003econtains significant previously unpublished work, including a poignant memoir of his family and of growing up in Leeds, together with his much celebrated diary for the years 1996-2004, and numerous other exceptional essays, reviews and comic pieces. Bennett, as always, is both amusing and poignant, whether he's discussing his modest childhood or his work with figures such as Maggie Smith, Thora Hird and John Gielgud.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSince the success of \u003cem\u003eBeyond the Fringe \u003c\/em\u003ein the 1960s Alan Bennett has delighted audiences worldwide with his gentle humour and wry observations about life. His many works include \u003cem\u003eForty Years On\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Lady in the Van\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eTalking Heads\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eA Question of Attribution \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eThe Madness of King George\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003cem\u003eThe History Boys\u003c\/em\u003e opened to great acclaim at the National in 2004, and is winner of the \u003cem\u003eEvening Standard \u003c\/em\u003eAward, the South Bank Award and the Critics' Circle Award for Best New Play.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eUntold Stories \u003c\/em\u003eis published jointly with Profile Books.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goldsboro Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47264408568102,"sku":"untold-stories","price":75.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4900\/5606\/files\/c56e4a6e-ed0b-4468-bb92-6b7377919ed1.jpg?v=1701096723"},{"product_id":"writing-home","title":"Writing Home","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWriting Home\u003c\/i\u003e brings together diaries, reminiscences and reviews to give us a unique and unforgettable portrait of one of England's leading playwrights. As a memoir it covers the production of his very first play, \u003ci\u003eForty Years On, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich starred John Gieldgud, as well as many other important productions. His television series 'Talking Heads' has become a modern-day classic; as part of the 1960s revue 'Beyond the Fringe' Bennett helped to kick-start the English satire revolution, and has since remained one of our leading dramatists, most recently with \u003ci\u003eThe History Boys\u003c\/i\u003e at the National Theatre. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the heart of the book is \u003ci\u003eThe Lady in The Van,\u003c\/i\u003e since adapted into a radio play featuring Dame Maggie Smith. It is the true account of Miss Mary Shepherd, a homeless tramp who took up residence in Bennett's garden and stayed for fifteen years. This new edition also includes Bennett's introduction to his Oscar-nominated screenplay for \u003ci\u003eThe Madness of King George \u003c\/i\u003eand his more recent diaries.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goldsboro Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47264453558566,"sku":"writing-home","price":90.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4900\/5606\/files\/38b545c9-88c9-4329-8d3b-0a16359a8757.jpg?v=1701098879"},{"product_id":"the-habit-of-art","title":"The Habit of Art","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAuden often said that metre and rhyme led him down unexpected paths to thoughts he wouldn't otherwise have had, and in this respect versification and fornication are not so different.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBenjamin Britten, sailing uncomfortably close to the wind with his new opera, \u003cem\u003eDeath in Venice\u003c\/em\u003e, seeks advice from his former collaborator and friend, W H Auden. 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.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eYou are a rent boy. I am a poet. Over the wall lives the Dean of Christ Church. We all have our parts to play.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlan Bennett's new 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's spent: ultimately, on the habit of art.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'In the end,' said Auden, 'art is small beer. The really serious things in life are earning one's living and loving one's neighbour.'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goldsboro Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47264454410534,"sku":"XKSQEL00","price":95.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4900\/5606\/files\/bea8047d-4ebf-4d06-87f3-5eb3fad3eec6.jpg?v=1701098943"},{"product_id":"the-habit-of-art-1","title":"The Habit of Art","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAuden often said that metre and rhyme led him down unexpected paths to thoughts he wouldn't otherwise have had, and in this respect versification and fornication are not so different. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBenjamin 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 for twenty-five years, they are observed and interrupted by amongst others their future biographer and a young man from the local bus station.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eYou are a rent boy. I am a poet. Over the wall lives the Dean of Christ Church. We all have our parts to play. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlan Bennett's new 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's spent: ultimately, on the habit of art.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goldsboro Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48113855004966,"sku":"alanbennett","price":95.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4900\/5606\/files\/93ad90c2-871f-43af-b94c-9fa7794de557.jpg?v=1712419588"},{"product_id":"allelujah","title":"Allelujah!","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e-\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eWhat were you in life?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e-\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e I\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003en life, as you put it, I was a schoolmaster.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Beth, an old fashioned cradle-to-grave hospital serving a town on the edge of the Pennines, is threatened with closure as part of an NHS efficiency drive. As Dr Valentine and Sister Gilchrist attend to the patients, a documentary crew, eager to capture its fight for survival, follows the daily struggle to find beds on the Dusty Springfield Geriatric Ward. Meanwhile, the old people's choir, in readiness for next week's concert, is in full swing, augmented by the arrival of Mrs Maudsley, aka Pudsey Nightingale.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlan Bennett's\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eAllelujah\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e! opened at the Bridge Theatre, London, in July 2018.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goldsboro Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49422753988902,"sku":"alanbennetta","price":120.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4900\/5606\/files\/5e3f6e89-674c-418f-8e00-556444d87af4.jpg?v=1724495824"}],"url":"https:\/\/goldsborobooks.pro\/collections\/alan-bennett.oembed","provider":"Goldsboro Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}