Everything about The History Boys totally explained
The History Boys is a six-time
Tony Award winning
play written by English playwright
Alan Bennett. It was later adapted as a
2006 film.
Plot summary
The action of the play takes place in Cutlers'
Grammar School,
Sheffield, a fictional boys'
grammar school in the north of
England. Set in the early 1980s, the piece follows a group of
History pupils preparing for the
Oxbridge entrance examinations under the guidance of three teachers (Hector, Irwin and Lintott) with contrasting styles.
Irwin teaches the essay style of brisk generalities flavoured with sufficient facts and quotations to engage the examiner's interest. He teaches the boys to find a (sometimes controversial) angle on a point in History and find evidence to support it, enabling the student to prove a less than truthful perspective of History. He believes the truth is irrelevant when it comes to finding a stance that will make his pupils stand out in the examination board. This method was one of 'false pretences', that Bennett felt he'd had to teach himself in order to succeed in examinations, one academic pursuit with which he constantly had trouble. Hector, however, wishes to teach knowledge, especially English Literature, for its own intrinsic value, hoping his students will benefit greatly from his influence. He wants the boys to become cultured, rounded human beings and believes that such contrived methods are practically indecent. Exams are the enemy of all that he stands for.
Themes
The play blends both comedy and tragedy, with multiple layers and themes, including growing up, the wider purpose of
education in adult life, teaching methods,
homosexuality/
pederasty, and the
English education system.
Indeed the role of the pupil Posner with his hopeless attraction to classmate Dakin, fondness of Hector's teaching methods and late development into adulthood represents deep autobiographical details of Bennett's life. The play also takes much influence from director
Nicholas Hytner's time at
Manchester Grammar School and indeed that institution is referenced in the play.
Original cast
Productions
Royal National Theatre
The play opened at the
Lyttelton Theatre (part of the National Theatre) in
London on
18 May 2004 where it played to sell-out audiences and its limited run was frequently extended. On
24 November 2005, the same production was revived once again at the
Lyttelton Theatre where it played another successful run, the original cast reuniting in the final week in
February 2006.
International Tour
Following closing in London, the National Theatre production toured to
Hong Kong in February 2006 and featured in the 2006 New Zealand International Arts Festival held in
Wellington (February 2006) before playing at the Sydney Theatre in
Sydney,
Australia from
March 4 to
April 8 2006. At each venue, the play was presented to sell-out audiences with the original London cast, including
Richard Griffiths however
Frances de la Tour was replaced by Maggie Stead until the Broadway season.
Broadway
The American premiere of the play took place on
April 23 2006 when the same National production opened on
Broadway at the
Broadhurst Theatre. Originally scheduled to run through
September 2 2006, the run was extended through to
October 8 2006 following huge public demand in the aftermath of sweeping the Tony, New York Critics Circle and other American theatrical awards.
West End
Following its Broadway triumph and second UK tour, the play opened at London's
Wyndham's Theatre on
2 January 2007, following previews from
20 December 2006. The production closed on
14 April 2007. A further West End run of the play opened once again at the Wyndham's Theatre on
20 December 2007 running through
26 April 2008.
UK National Tours
The first UK tour of the production opened in
2005, continuing to play nine regional venues. A second UK tour began on the
31 August 2006 at the
Birmingham Rep, touring to eight further venues. The latest (third) UK tour launched on
6 September 2007 at the
Theatre Royal, Plymouth, before continuing to
Truro,
Cheltenham,
Bath,
Dublin,
Blackpool,
Leeds,
Cambridge and
Eastbourne before culminating in
Newcastle on
10 November 2007.
Ireland
The Irish premiere of the play took place on Tuesday
9 October 2007 at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, running to Saturday
13 October 2007.
Australia
Following the original Australian production at the Sydney Theatre in
Sydney from
March 4 to
April 8 2006, a production of the play ran at the
Melbourne Theatre Company from
Apr 9 –
May 12 2007.
Israel
The Israeli production, directed by Micha Levinson, premiered in March
2007 at the Beit Lessin Theater in
Tel-Aviv, in
Hebrew with local actors, starring Oded Kotler and Sandra Sade.
New Zealand
A production directed by Elric Hooper is scheduled to play at The
Court Theatre (NZ) in
Christchurch,
New Zealand from May - June 2008.
Awards
The original London production won three
2005 Olivier Awards, for Best New Play, Best Actor (
Richard Griffiths), and Best Direction (
Nicholas Hytner).
The New York production won five
Drama Desk Awards, for Outstanding New Play, Outstanding Actor in a Play (Richard Griffiths), Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (
Samuel Barnett), Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (
Frances de la Tour) and Outstanding Direction of a Play (Nicholas Hytner). It also won four 2006
Outer Critics Circle Awards, for Outstanding Broadway Play, Outstanding Direction of a Play, and Outstanding Featured Actor and "Featured Actress in a Play" for Griffiths and de la Tour.
The History Boys also was nominated for seven
Tony Awards, of which it won a record six: Best Play, Best Director of a Play, Best Featured Actress for de la Tour, Best Actor for Griffiths, Best Set Design of a Play, and Best Lighting Design of a Play
(External Link
). Barnett was nominated for an award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a play.
Tony Award history
Awards won
Tony Award
- 2006, Best Play
- 2006, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play: Richard Griffiths
- 2006, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play: Frances de la Tour
- 2006, Best Direction of a Play: Nicholas Hytner
- 2006, Best Scenic Design of a Play: Bob Crowley
- 2006, Best Lighting Design of a Play: Mark Henderson
Nominated
Tony Award
Film version
» Main article, The History Boys (film)
A film version of the play was released in October 2006 in the United Kingdom and November 2006 in the USA. It was directed by Hytner and featured the original stage cast.
Further Information
Get more info on 'The History Boys'.
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