New Alan Bennett Play Opens In London
Alan Bennett, author of “The History Boys,” has a new play, “People,” which has just opened at the National Theatre in London. The reviews are strong if not scintillating. (Samples here and here.) The stars: Frances de la Tour and Linda Bassett (pictured). (From the photo, I thought this was a revival of “Lettice and Lovage.”) The story: Dorothy, a peer and ex-model, lives in a mouldering mansion with her companion, Iris, and shrinks from the idea of it being opened to the public gaze; she is even tempted by an offer from a valuer, working on behalf of a shadowy consortium, to transport the whole house to Dorset or Wiltshire. Meanwhile, Dorothy’s gruff archdeacon of a sister, June, is close to doing a deal with the National Trust, which will both make the house a piece of English history and fill it with racily interactive features. But a third possibility arises when a film company turns up to use the site as a location for a porn movie. Got it?
