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The History Boys. Alan Bennett. Dir Nicholas Hytner. September 2007.

Alan Bennett wanted to write about a charismatic schoolmaster and has come up with Hector (Desmond Barrit) whose approach is to teach the boys poetry and songs; Hector’s view is that learning moving, insightful or just plain silly texts provide the antidote to the earnest love of 'words'. He has the boys acting, singing from musicals and speaking French rather than studying History, and his unorthodox style aims to provide them with cultural awareness and breadth.

These boys are ambitious and their Headmaster wants them to get into Oxford which will give the school a better ranking in the league tables so he brings in a young teacher, Irwin, to prepare the boys for the examination board by challenging the way they think about history. The play is about teaching, the way to open up young minds balanced against exam training, and Bennett’s play shows how a teaching career can be fulfilling but also limiting; the school is a nation in microcosm: flawed individuals doing their best in a public institution.

Despite knowing that the actors are not boys but young men, this is soon forgotten; their performances are engaging and funny, occasionally moving. Their tolerance of Hector’s weakness for them seems mature but it is also the way that young people accept the oddities of adults as long as there is no harm done. Irwin, however, is less convincing. He is repressed and consequently somewhat dampened which makes it hard to see how he captivates the boys as he does, enough to shake them out of their sparky cynicism, pay attention, and alter their thinking.

Foul language distracts from the first-class script; it’s not necessary. The History Boys is a thought-provoking play, with moments of great tenderness, terrific humour, and lively and convincing performances. Watching this play from far back in the theatre diminshes its impact; seeing it a second time closer to the stage reveals a far deeper meaning; minute changes in the actors' faces are visible, we can see the expression in their eyes alter, but further back, we are unable to read these subtle and highly significant signs. Go and see it but sit at the front of the class.
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