There is an old witticism that states that ‘history repeats itself and historians repeat each other’. It was just over twenty years ago that Alan Bennett’s History Boys took to the stage for the first time at the National Theatre. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, it was a much-lauded affair that made stars of many of its young and up-and-coming cast – James Corden, Dominic Cooper, Russell Tovey to name but a few. Stage and screen stalwarts Frances De La Tour and Richard Griffiths ensured that it became the stuff of legend and the 2006 film version, featuring the original stage cast, gave it the wider audience that it so richly deserved. Winner of 30 major awards, and voted the Nation’s Favourite Play in 2013, many productions have sought to reproduce (dare I say repeat?) the magical chemistry of that iconic original. This 20^th Anniversary revival is directed by Sean Linnen and is taking the magic out on the road once more.

The action centres around a boys’ grammar school by the name of Cutlers in Sheffield. It is the 1980’s and we are following the trials and tribulations of a group of history students seeking success in Oxbridge entrance exams under the tutelage of their three teachers – Hector, Irwin and Lintott – each of whom have different approaches to the art of teaching. There’s Hector – the maverick English teacher who believes in culture for its own sake; Irwin – the shrewd supply teacher full of soundbites; and Mrs Lintott – the History teacher who knows what she is about and thinks her colleagues are all fools.  As the play unfolds, we witness the energetic and enquiring students in their quenchless quest for sex, sport and academic success.

Milo Twomey gives us a magnificently dreary Headmaster, looking to shape the young students in what he mistakenly believes to be his own image. He is seeking results for the sake of league table kudos, concerned about his own reputation and that of the school that is by now the only defining element in his own psyche. He has appointed the young supply teacher Mr Irwin (Bill Milner) because he believes that a younger teacher may have sharper focus on said results. Milner is excellent in this role, and allows us to see the vulnerability of Irwin beneath the surface of the aloof and slightly snooty academic. In direct didactical competition is old retainer Mr Hector (Simon Rouse), who truly believes in education as an end in itself and not merely as a means to progression through the system. Rouse makes Hector charismatic and gentle – a likeable character even in spite of the fact that he has an alarming propensity to fondle his students on the back of his motorbike (a sure way to end a teaching career if ever there was one).  The star of the teaching staff for me is Gillian Bevan’s Mrs Lintott, a pragmatic yet sympathetic realist whose common sense approach to education combines both the shrewd realism of Irwin and the dreamy idealism of Hector. Bevan has a splendidly dry delivery of her lines and an assured stage presence that means she is quite believable as the only teacher who knows exactly what she’s about.

The boys themselves are a motley crew with shining performances by Archie Christop-Allen as charming yet manipulative Dakin, and Lewis Cornay as sweet and self-effacing Posner. Cornay has a beautiful voice and takes the lead in many scene-stealing musical numbers accompanied brilliantly on the piano by Yazdan Qafouri’s Scripps.  Teddy Hinde gives us many chuckles in the form of class clown Timms and Ned Costello delivers the best line of the evening in Act Two bringing down the house as Rudge. I especially adore the way that the eight boys execute scene changes while giving a capella versions of 80’s classics. The musical contributions are sublime in their own right, but they also serve to remind us that these boys are in harmony with each other in more ways than one, despite the differences they present on the surface.

So, does this 20^th Anniversary production live up to the original, or is it a mere pale imitation, a dull repetition? I think that this production is quite magnificent. The mighty Alan Bennett still speaks to his audience through each and every character that he has created.  He asks lots of really relevant questions about the nature of education – what is the ultimate purpose of it and who does it serve? It is a question that continues to be relevant in every age, and of course the classroom is a highly relatable place for each and every one of us. This is an unrivalled script in the hands of a band of consummate performers. It is supremely funny and moving too. A magnificent treat for any theatre lover. Go and see it!

Playing at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham until Saturday 14^th September 2024.