22 – 31 August
The History Boys is 20 years old this year. This latest UK-touring iteration of the Tony and Laurence Olivier award-winning play, directed by Seán Linnen, feels as fresh as the day it was conceived by Alan Bennett, perhaps even upping its pulse more with the injection of well-known eighties pop riffs at scene change-overs. A terrific cast pushes this tale of clashing attitudes to education and sexual fluidity along at a pace that has a captivated audience hanging on to every word.
A clever rotating scene by designer Grace Smart reveals both an interior classroom and the exterior of Cutlers’ Grammar School. In a televised interview with theatre director and film producer Nicholas Hytner ten years ago, Bennett explained he liked writing about life within institutions, where eccentric behaviour could thrive.
And thrive it does here. Cutler’s, through the lens of Bennett’s own experiences at Leeds Modern School in the 1950’s, is a place in thrall to the idea of gaining Oxbridge places for its talented crop of sixth formers. To this end the feverishly ambitious headmaster (Milo Twomey) employs a supply teacher, Irwin (Bill Milner) to beef up the more organically intellectual methods of Hector, a teacher who bemuses his employer with sorties into the unexpected and the esoteric to stretch his charges’ imagination, with sometimes hilarious results. Simon Rouse delivers a wonderful performance as the ageing schoolmaster nearing the end of his career, whose lofty thoughts about knowledge sit awkwardly beside his so-far unfettered desire to fondle his pupils’ privates. Hector’s flirtation with ruin, while holding onto professional principle, is convincingly played.
Archie Christoph-Allen plays the cocksure sixth-former Dakin. Good looking, super confident, he is already attempting to bed the headmaster’s secretary Fiona, whose character doesn’t make an appearance in the play. Convinced by his own attractiveness and empowered by the overt attentions of younger gay fellow pupil Posner (Lewis Cornay), he embarks on a sexual conquest of the supply teacher – an extension of the idea of history being driven by those that ‘make things happen’. In this he sets up a crucial conversation between himself and Irwin in which the latter at first attempts avoidance and caution. One gets the sense that this dialogue could have been scripted explicitly to explore opposing facets of Bennett’s psyche – on the one hand the withdrawn and shy man, on the other a sexually expressive individual pushing for reciprocated desire.
In a stand-out ensemble, able to use voice, song and physical theatre to great effect, Lewis Cornay’s performance as the young Jewish boy Posner was notable. His fine singing voice, and very amusing cameo in his class re-enactment of a scene from the film Brief Encounter was memorable. His sensitive portrayal of a boy suffering unrequited love palpable.
Bennett’s writing is a multi-layered treat. Seeing at once what is pathetic, hilarious, deluded, petty, sometimes principled and dismissive, all at once, Bennett’s The History Boys given this production’s high energy performance survives its increasing vintage well – barring of course the fact that Hector’s indiscretions would not be tolerated for a second today.
A long play at about two and half hours in length, there was never a sense that the zest, the joy in its production ever dipped. The story’s end can feel like something of a bolt-on – the jolt and resolve intended at the dénouement not quite coming across as powerfully as everything that goes before. There were moments, such as in Mrs Dorothy Lintott (Gillian Bevan), Hector’s fellow history teacher’s wonderful outburst about the lack of women featuring throughout history, and later when the boys were commentating on their futures, where it was difficult to hear soft voices in a large auditorium. A bit of extra help with the audio, or enhanced projection by the players could have improved the clarity of the spoken word. But these are quibbles. Overall, this is a finely-tuned piece, classic Bennett given a shot-in-the-arm revival.
★★★★★ Simon Bishop, 29 August 2024
Photo credit: Marc Brenner
