Forty Years On and Other Plays

by Alan Bennett

Bennett stars in a new production of his own acclaimed satirical comedy. In this play within a play, the Headmaster of Albion House takes part in the end-of-year entertainment for the last time before his retirement. It exposes the timeless misunderstanding of one generation by another.

Genres: Plays

257 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Alan Bennett is an English author and Tony Award-winning playwright. Bennett's first stage play, Forty Years On, was produced in 1968. Many television, stage and radio plays followed, along with screenplays, short stories, novellas, a large body of non-fictional prose and broadcasting, and many appearances as an actor. Bennett's lugubrious yet expressive voice (which still bears a slight Leeds accent) and the sharp humour and evident humanity of his writing have made his readings of his own work (especially his autobiographical writing) very popular. His readings of the Winnie the Pooh stories are also widely enjoyed.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this, but I think it's more than a little outdated.

[Becky Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Getting On stands up brilliantly on the page, Forty Years On and Habeas Corpus less so, but still a good read.