The play opens in Cutlers' Grammar School, Sheffield, a fictional boys' grammar school in the north of England. Set in the mid-late 1980s, the play follows a group of history pupils preparing for the Oxford and Cambridge entrance examinations under the guidance of three teachers (Hector, Irwin, and Lintott) with contrasting styles.
Hector, an eccentric teacher, delights in knowledge for its own sake but his ambitious headmaster wants the school to move up the academic league table and hires Irwin, a supply teacher, to introduce a rather more cynical and ruthless style of teaching. Hector is discovered sexually fondling a boy and later Irwin's latent homosexual inclinations emerge.
The character of Hector was based on the schoolmaster and author Frank McEachran (1900–1975).[1][2]
Characters
A 2007 production of The History Boys at The Doon School, India; a scene featuring Irwin (played by Vivaan Shah, then a student) and Posner
Headmaster
Hector – English and General Studies teacher
Irwin – History teacher; brought in as a special coach
Mrs Dorothy Lintott – History teacher
Akthar – Pupil; of Asian ancestry, Muslim
Crowther – Pupil; acts as a hobby
Dakin – Pupil; handsome, object of Posner's and Irwin's affection
Lockwood – Pupil; strong opinions
Posner – Pupil; youngest, gay and Jewish
Rudge – Pupil; better known for athletic skills than for intelligence
Scripps – Pupil; Anglican, plays piano
Timms – Pupil; joker, overweight
Director on Irwin's television programme (a small role)
Make-Up Woman, Production team – on Irwin's television show
Three or four unidentified MPs – spoken to by Irwin in opening scene
Other male pupils
Fiona – Headmaster's secretary; object of Dakin's affection. Does not appear on stage in the published text, but was seen in filmed projections featuring Rio by Duran Duran during the original production[citation needed].
Productions
Royal National Theatre
The play opened at the Lyttelton Theatre (part of the National Theatre) in London on 18 May 2004, directed by Nicholas Hytner. It played to sell-out audiences and its limited run was frequently extended. Richard Griffiths, James Corden, Dominic Cooper, Russell Tovey, Sacha Dhawan, Samuel Barnett, Jamie Parker and Andrew Knott were among the original cast. On 24 November 2005, the same production was revived once again at the Lyttelton Theatre, where it played another successful run. Matt Smith took on the role of Lockwood in the November 2005 revision of the cast. The original cast reunited in the final week in February 2006.
The American premiere of the play took place on 23 April 2006 when the same National production opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre.[4] Originally scheduled to run through 2 September 2006, the run was extended through to 8 October 2006 following huge public demand after the show won 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 Wyndham's Theatre on 20 December 2007 running through 26 April 2008.
A majority of the original cast reunited on 2 November 2013 for the National Theatre 50th Anniversary special and performed the French lesson scene, with Philip Correia taking over for Russell Tovey, Marc Elliott performing as Akthar, original Akthar actor Sacha Dhawan as Posner (as Samuel Barnett was performing in Richard III/Twelfth Night on Broadway at the time) and playwright Alan Bennett taking over as Hector from Richard Griffiths, who had died in March 2013.[5]
West Yorkshire Playhouse / Theatre Royal Bath tour
A fourth national tour co-produced by the West Yorkshire Playhouse and Theatre Royal Bath commenced in early 2010. This was a new production not produced by the National Theatre and directed by Christopher Luscombe. The cast were as follows:
A Catalan adaptation debuted on 24 September 2008 at Teatre Goya in Barcelona. Director: Josep Maria Pou.[7]
In the spring of 2009, the play was produced across the United States in several regional premieres. On the west coast, a Seattle production ran from 4 March to 28 March 2009, at ArtsWest Playhouse. The play had its southwest premiere at Uptown Players, in Dallas, from 3 April to 3 May 2009.[8] And the play made its Chicago premiere on 25 April 2009, at TimeLine Theatre.[9]
The play had its amateur debut in Melbourne, Australia, performed at the Cromwell Road Theatre from 18–25 July 2009 and directed by Bryce Ives .[citation needed] The first amateur production of the play (text released by Samuel French, Inc.) was performed at the St Helens Theatre Royal, on 19–22 August 2009.[citation needed]
The Netherlands premiere was presented on 1 October 2009 by The Queen's English Theatre Company at the CREA Theater, Amsterdam – featuring an English mother-tongue cast, starring Brian André as Hector and directed by Mark Winstanley. The same production formed the play's premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2010.[10]
An Italian adaptation debuted on 19 September 2010 at Teatro ElfoPuccini in Milan, directed by Elio de Capitani and Ferdinando Bruni.[citation needed] It won the Premio UBU 2011 as best show.[citation needed]
The Sydney debut was performed at the Sydney Opera House by the Peach Theatre Company from 8 February to 2 March 2013, starring John Wood as Hector, Heather Mitchell as Mrs Linnott, Paul Goddard as Head Master, James Mackay as Irwin, Dakin:Lindsay Farris, Scripps: Aaron Tsindos. Crowther: Simon Brook McLachlan. Lockwood: Caleb Alloway. Arthur: James Elliott. Posner:Matthew Backer. Rudge: Gary Brun. Timms: Matt Hardie and is directed by Jesse Peach.[11]
In October 2006 a film adaptation of the play was released in the United States, and later in November 2006 in Britain. The film, also titled The History Boys, was directed by Nicholas Hytner and featured the original stage cast.
Controversy
The film did receive controversy revolving around the character of Hector, a professor who molests the students. Nick Clark of The Independent wrote, "Bennett raised eyebrows with his sympathetic portrayal of Hector, the teacher forced to step down for fondling his teenage pupils".[12] In a 2006 interview with David Batty of The Guardian, Bennett defended the storyline stating, "The boys are all consenting adults, and Hector's behaviour is very unthreatening. The boys all consider him to be a bit of a joke and just tolerate it as part of the price of his eccentric teaching style. I didn't write in his death to redeem his transgression, I did it to make the drama work."[13] In 2013 Bennett revealed he was "interfered with as a child but was not greatly affected by the experience".[14]
