Allelujah! by Alan Bennett (Bridge Theatre)

To be fair, History Boys opened when he was 70, but yeah fair enough

Caryl Churchill is 80 and seems to be getting better and better even as her plays get shorter and shorter

Caryl Churchill leaves anyone of any age in the dust. She and Bennett are on different planes.

I don't think it's about ageism, it's just that most artists' careers (especially writers, directors and, to a certain extent, actors) are like parabols, where they keep getting better and better until a point where they start just relying on past glories, repeating themselves or losing touch with their time. Most young playwrights' plays are pretentious and most older playwrights' plays don't say anything they haven't said before and better. Of course you have the great exceptions in both sides, like Annie Baker and Caryl Churchill.

Verdi was 80 when he premiered Falstaff - OK not a play - but still a work of creative genius.

Indeed - AB's plays don't make 30 mins feel like eternity.

After the play with 20 mins of an old man undressing and dressing again I have given up trying to persuade myself that Caryl Churchill isn't the most tedious writer on the planet.

I'm not sure that we're ever given the chance to find out.  Unfortunately, theatre is obsessed with youth.  Producers seem to be constantly searching for the next best thing and when they find it, discard it in favour of the newest new find.  How many playwrights are given the opportunity to develop?  As far as I am aware most works of genius, even in theatre, are written by older people (the fifties and sixties seem particularly productive) - look at GB Shaw, Samuel Beckett, Michael Frayn, Churchill we've already mentioned, Arthur Miller.  Pam Gems wrote some of her best plays in her mid-sixties.   Even dancers who lose the physical ability to dance as they age produce fantastic work as choreographers when they're older.  Why would it be any different for playwrights, apart from producers who don't want wrinkles hanging around their brand new buildings?

With all due respect to Abby, Bennett himself I suspect would be embarrassed even to be mentioned in the same sentence as Churchill, who is one of the very few theatrical game-changers out there and remains many people's favourite living playwright (Tony Kushner and David Hare, to name but two) -- Bennett began as a sketch artist and, bless him, has rarely moved beyond that. HISTORY BOYS was a great production of a play that would NEVER work nowadays, given current sensibilities and sensitivities. And HABEAS CORPUS at the Donmar was pure bliss. The TALKING HEADS are genius too. But beyond that ....

I fear for this latest one but we shall see.

I think this play is going to produce a very mixed reaction. I enjoyed it, my 2 friends not so much.
It's quite dark and discusses difficult subject matter but some very funny Alan Bennett lines and great acting from the ensemble. I enjoyed the musical numbers too.
Seems in good shape but thought the 1st half dragged a bit and could do with tightening up a bit.
This was my first time at the Bridge theatre and it's a great venue. Sat in gallery 2 facing the stage. Lots of leg room and good rake. However you do feel a long way from the stage and if I went again I would opt for front stalls.

Ibsen nearly made it and did write powerful stuff in his 70s.

This play is a masterpiece. I’ve never really gone for his other stuff as I found his wit patronising. However here he uses it to advantage as he suddenly turns on his nicely warmed up audience with a sudden, sickening and very harrowing plot twist. Mr Bennett reveals he has a very, very dark heart after all and is as screwed up as the rest of us. I found myself on the edge of my seat. Really thrilling, moving and momentous. The winding up of all the plot threads towards the end was a bit naff but can be forgiven for he doctors final speech, a magnificent damnation of self serving popular white liberal elitism. Everyone including myself leaves the theatre shame faced or at least they would do had they got that his anger is actually all aboutthem and not simply the characters in this wallop of a play. Go see and please let me know if your interpretation of what you hear is the same as mine. Or have I just misread the whole thing.

He never struck me

As the most sophisticated of people

Either in his writing

Memoirs

Or even his acting or interviews

I think all his work is so self centred
And introspective

He has never left his comfort zone

Humour rather than comedy