The time spent in Secondary School, while different for everybody, is a part of our lives that we never forget, from sitting exams, to finding your first love, education, and its assorted dramas, is something we all must experience. But the Theatre Royal Bath and the West Yorkshire Playhouse production of Alan Bennett’s critically acclaimed play, The History Boys, shows us the years we spend learning have a profound effect on our future.
Set in the fictional Cutler grammar school for boys in Sheffield in the early 1980s, Bennett’s seminal scholarly comedy follows a group of talented final-year pupils as they prepare for their Oxbridge entrance examination, under the guidance of the eccentric Hector (Gerard Murphy) and his younger, and much stricter colleague Irwin, (Ben Lambert).
Although set nearly 20 years ago, The History Boys manages to be as timeless as it is clever, thanks to the universal appeal and associated nostalgia that our time in education instils. Themes of hope, ambition, unrequited love and loss are just a few of the rich and varied topics Bennett touches upon in his accolade to our long lost school days. And unsurprisingly, allusions to the homoerotic and romantic and casual relationships between pupils and staff are presented and dissected with welcome understanding and humour, without any hint of cliché. But Bennett’s ability to recreate the constant pressure to succeed, both academically and personally at a relatively young age, that helps make The History Boys so believable. Luscombe’s revival of the original 2004 production is an energetic, and above all, amusing show that is as captivating as it is touching. Aided by a cast of talented actors, both young and old, Bennett’s piece reminds us that while we may do our best to prepare for our lives ahead, life rarely ever works out as planned.