The History Boys - 20 Years On and as Fresh and Relevant As Ever

Simon Rouse-Hector and Students. Photo courtesy of The Belgrade.

The History Boys by Alan Bennett, directed by Seán Linnen, from 8 – 12 October at the B1 venue, Belgrade Theatre.

Review by Annette Kinsella

As you’d expect, I and all other Elementary What’s On reviewers aim to remain utterly impartial in reviews, writing solely on the basis of the performance we see, with no preconceptions or biases. However, I must declare an interest in the following review. Any show that kicks off Acts 1 and 2 with acapella renditions of 80s classics St Elmo’s Fire by John Parr and Adam Ant’s Stand and Deliver is automatically number one in my book. With that in mind, The History Boys at the Belgrade Theatre is a must-see. Buy your tickets now. The End.

But seriously, there’s much more to like in Sean Linnen’s 20th anniversary production of Alan Bennett’s satire aside from the vibrant 80s soundtrack. For those not familiar with the plot of Britain’s favourite play (awarded the title following a 2013 poll), it follows a group of grammar school sixth formers, fresh from dazzling A level results, as they chase elusive places at Oxbridge, helped and hindered by schoolmasters Hector and Irving. Hector (Simon Rouse) is the dusty, set-in-his-ways cynic, only concerned with education for culture's sake, while Irwin (Bill Milner) is the fresh-faced upstart, brought in to oversee an exam factory designed to rocket the school up the league tables.They are ably supported by browbeaten head of history Mrs Lintott (the superb Gillian Bevanas) and unlikeable headmaster Mr Armstrong.

Gillian Bevan - Mrs Lintott - Simon Rouse- Hector. Photo courtesy of the Belgrade.

In researching this play, I looked up the play’s critical reception at the time, which said the school was an allegory for 80s Britain. with Armstrong representing a despotic Margaret Thatcher. However, in this version Milo Twomey plays him to Basil Fawlty-style perfection, lurching from one nervous breakdown-inducing crisis to the next.

The boys are equally adept in their character portrayals, with Archie Christoph-Allenas bringing exactly the right amount of swaggering confidence to leader of the gang Dakin, and Lewis Cornay playing Jewish outsider Posner with heartbreaking uncertainty, bringing to mind Heartstopper's Charlie Spring. The dialogue is Bennett at his finest – sparkling and funny but with a darker tragi-comedy undertone always lurking beneath.

Simon Rouse-Hector and Students. Photo courtesy of The Belgrade.

If there was a criticism – and I use the term very loosely – to be levelled, it could be that the sense of time in the play is puzzling. The soundtrack sets it firmly in the 50s but the school and the teachers seem to be a product of a much earlier era - less Grange Hill and more Goodbye Mr Chips. Equally some of the social commentary seems out of place today – Mrs Lintott wonders why there are no famous women historians, in a world where female academics are so well-know they have their own satirist (Diane Morgan’s excellent Philomena Cunk, for information). It makes me wonder whether there could be room for an updated production, set in a comprehensive with a drill music soundtrack. No?! Just me then.

Bill Milner-Irwin-Students. Photo courtesy of The Belgrade.

Anachronisms aside, this show is hugely enjoyable, bitingly funny and at times almost unbearably poignant. Bennett wrote the play to challenge the purposes of education: is it to provide a foundation for the rest of a students’ life, or merely to grant a passport to more learning or employment? Twenty years on, the debate – and the show - remains as fresh and relevant as ever.

For tickets go to:  https://www.belgrade.co.uk/events/the-history-boys/