In the subterranean world of Pembroke New Cellars, hiding from the silent and student-free state that is pre-term Cambridge, John Tothill prowls effetely in front of me as The Habit of Art’s sour and self-satisfied W.H. Auden, airily insulting Stuart (Jamie P. Robson), his ambitious rent boy who dreams of holding his own amid the 1970s Oxbridge literati. The room is enraptured.

And yet a noise of uncertain displeasure erupts from the front of the room – “Uhhhhhh…” – bursting the bubble of collective back-slapping. “That was goooood,” muses Isaac Jordan, Director and source of the interruption. “But I think Fitz would enjoy that speech even more”. To my surprise, John and the cast agree instantaneously, and with unspoken synchronicity, that the scene must start all over again, repeating it until it is exactly right. Because this is, of course, an Alan Bennett play; the cast simply could not be required to play straightforward characters. Instead, their story focuses on a group of actors who are themselves rehearsing for Caliban’s Day, a play at the National Theatre about a fictional meeting between Auden and his former friend and collaborator, Benjamin Britten. A new year of Cambridge theatre has begun; let’s hope it’s starting as it means to go on: ambitious, introspective and darkly funny as ever.

While many will be familiar with Bennett, The Habit of Art is one of his lesser-known plays, written in 2009 for the Royal National Theatre. Despite this obscurity, Isaac assures me that the gravitational attraction of Cambridge students to the culturally iconic figures of Auden and Britten means the production has attracted a lot of attention. “When I mention what it’s about so many people are like...” – at this point, Isaac breaks into mock swoon and, in his best Austenite heroine accent, gushes – “‘Oooooh, Benjamin Britten!’”

“Britten seems to have this almost cult following in Cambridge,” he continues, “it’s very odd”. Given how sceptically The Habit of Art treats the celebrity following of intellectuals, the student reaction has both thrilled and amused Isaac and Assistant Director Charlotte Cromie. “So many people said, ‘I’d love to play Auden!’ or ‘I’d love to be Britten!’”

When the production was first announced, Charlotte tells me that Bennett – himself tiptoeing the line between highbrow academia and mainstream public consciousness – was definitely also aware of the pair’s appeal when writing the play.

So Bennett is exploiting the celebrity status of Auden and Britten as much as the rest of us, I ask, but he’s also critiquing it too? Isaac nods. “It’s very telling that each only produced a handful of notable work[s] in the public consciousness. People were much more interested in the fact that Auden was a slob, and that Britten shared beds with young boys, than by anything they actually wrote.”

“I think there could be a misconception in the publicity of the play”, he reflects amusedly, “that people are going to see a fascinating, psychological exposé of Auden and Britten. But it’s really about how they were really quite shallow and unlikable – and how the myth that they were otherwise propagated.”

Despite the logistical challenges of a week one ‘nightmare slot’, Charlotte and Isaac assure me that the rehearsal process was an intense but exciting joy, rather than a forensic headache. “Even though the play appears to be about Auden and Britten, it’s very much an ensemble piece”, Charlotte explains. Long daily rehearsals and minimal academic commitments have allowed the cast to pick apart the complexities of the play as a group – and also to spend invaluable bonding time down the pub. 

Charlotte describes how the play’s lack of resolution and commitment to shabbiness is what made her want to apply to be Assistant Director: “Ultimately, the play shows that you can compose as much beautiful music as you like, or write as many beautiful poems, or perform at the National for all of your career – but at the end it just fades away. The classic ‘not with a bang, but a whimper.’

The Habit of Art is on at the ADC Theatre at 7:45pm, from Tuesday 11th October to Saturday 15th October 2016.