Front row seat for opening night of this Grand Theatre produced version of The History Boys. Having seen the two previous plays produced by the Grand Theatre, Brassed Off and Ladies' Day, I was very keen to see this. Especially with the added attraction of starring two legends in Ian Redford and Jeffrey Holland. Also as a relative newcomer to Alan Bennett, having only previously seen Habeas Corpus on stage, and the film of Lady in the Van, I thought it would be good to see his most famous play. I was going to watch the film version of The History Boys until I saw James Corden was in it, and unfortunately my irrational hatred (or possibly very rational?) of Mr. Corden prevented me from doing so.
The play is written by Alan Bennett and has had various stage productions since it's initial highly successful run in London in 2004 starring Richard Griffiths as the teacher Hector. The basis of the play is the story of a group of very intelligent school students all preparing for their entrance exams to the top Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Hector's unorthodox teaching methods worry the Headmaster and he brings in an Oxford graduate to help them with their preparations. Intermixed with highly unusual French lessons, drama, music, poetry and of course history, are tales of sexual exploits, unrequited love and rugby.
The set is actually very good. At first glance it just appears to be a classroom with a few chairs, but as the play gets going we have new classrooms and offices appearing through the walls. Indeed initially I didn't even notice as a new classroom suddenly appeared on stage while my attention was diverted to the screens above. Upon entering the beautiful Grand Theatre we are greeted with scenes from the classic films Now Voyager and Brief Encounter, which are relevant to the play. In between scenes these screens are used again showing pre-recorded scenes of the school grounds and corridors with the actors, to very good effect. They make the school environment seem more realistic and also divert us from set and prop changes.
The acting was excellent across the board. There are eight younger actors who play the school students and they are all so different, but all so good. Standouts are Thomas Grant as Posner, who has to sing a few songs as well, and Jordan Scowen as Dakin, the lead boy. It seems unfair though to single them out as the others were all excellent as well and you can see the 4 weeks rehearsal time has been well used. The other students are played by Arun Bassi, Frazer Hadfield, Adonis Jenieco, James Schofield, Dominic Treacy and Joe Wiltshire Smith. Victoria Carling plays the History teacher, the only women in the cast, but she has some of the best lines in the play and delivers them sharply. I think one of her scenes with Jeffrey Holland got the biggest laugh of the night from the audience. Lee Comley has one of the hardest roles to play as new teacher Irwin and again he is very good. Just the right amount of Alan Bennett nervousness and confidence all wrapped up together. Jeffrey Holland, perhaps the most well known from the cast, due to his TV roles, is a perfect headmaster. He is exactly what you'd want to see from a stuffy headmaster, pushing his school agenda. The cast completed by the wonderful Ian Redford who plays the teacher Hector. He is one of these actors who is completely at home on the stage, and he puts everything into the emotionally complex role.
It was lovely to meet the cast after the show to get my programme signed and got to have a lovely chat with Ian Redford about his previous work at the RSC and also some of his secret future plans. The programme, by the way, is really nice. One of the best I've seen at the Grand Theatre, full of interesting information and photographs.
The History Boys plays at the Grand Theatre until the 22nd February so grab yourself a ticket if you can. It's well worth seeing. Running time is 2 hours 40 minutes including the interval. Be warned though that there is a lot of swearing and it isn't recommended for anyone under the age of 14.
To book your tickets visit the Grand Theatre website at :
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