The History Boys
Belgrade Coventry
8th October 2024

Deemed “the nation’s favourite play”, ‘The History Boys’ was a major hit when it premiered at the National Theatre back in 2004, going on to scoop up multiple awards both sides of the Atlantic, and igniting the careers of James Corden, Russell Tovey and Dominic Cooper, among others. In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Alan Bennett’s exploration of Britain’s educational system in the 1980s is touring the UK this autumn, stopping by this week at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre.

Set in a boys’ grammar school in Sheffield, a group of history pupils are preparing for their university entrance examinations. Headmaster Felix Armstrong (played by Milo Twomey) cares only about league tables and pushing for the young men to be accepted into the most prestigious universities, Cambridge and Oxford firmly in his sights. The class teacher, Hector (Simon Rouse) cares little for grades and statistics, instead prefering the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, and encouraging the boys to just absorb as much of life’s experiences as possible. Fellow teacher Mrs Lintott (Gillian Bevan) falls somewhere in between, preferring practicality and reason, and when Armstrong hires new teacher Irwin (Bill Milner) to get the school’s grades up, the students find themselves caught between the varying teaching styles and are challenged in the way that they think, especially when Hector’s inappropriate conduct with the young men is uncovered.

Watching a play in 2024 that was written 20 years ago and set 20 years before that is a tricky beast, as inevitably the audience will apply todays’ societal expectations to material that predates them, and it makes it unclear what ‘The History Boys’ is trying to say in the modern day. While Bennett makes some fascinating insights and asks perceptive questions around the acquisition of knowledge, particularly around when does history become journalism, there are it’s significantly questionable treatment of Hector’s behaviour with the students sits in an uncomfortably grey area. In today’s world of safeguarding, his actions would be condemned, but here they are largely laughed off, treated as a joke, and never really addressed as a significant concern, despite his clear abuse of his position. Given the attitudes towards gay men in the 1980s, the brushing off his conduct feels problematic at worst and unrealistic at best.

Bennett’s trademark wit and humour are in evidence, but as a text it’s less accessible than some of his heavier works, the observations coming thick and fast and giving the audience little time to digest them. There are some great lines (“history is just one f*g thing after another”), but they come in the middle of a lot of other heavy dialogue which bring a leaden pace and can make the play feel a bit of slog to get through. Sean Linnen’s direction and Grace Smart’s design do combat some of the sluggishness however, with sharp scene transitions and the inclusion of snippets from a number of synth-heavy 80s hits, which inject some liveliness into the flow.

While some of the characters are significantly more fleshed out than others, the strong cast are on fine form and it’s a great ensemble effort. Many of the cast are making their professional debuts here, and put in some great performances, shining in their individual moments. From Archie Christoph-Annen’s swaggering Dakin, Lewis Cornay’s elfin-like Posner, Teddy Hinde’s clownish Timms and the calming gentleness of Yazdan Qafouri’s Scripps, the group blend together brilliantly and share a fantastic chemistry as a whole. Simon Rouse also excels as Hector, barely feeling like he’s acting and instead imparting his wisdom like a beloved grandfather, remaining likeable despite his behaviour. And Gillian Bevan is excellent as the grounding Mrs Lintott, the lone female voice amidst a sea of clashing male viewpoints, and adds a terrific counterbalance.

While Bennett’s questions around the pursuit of knowledge remain fascinating, other aspects of ‘The History Boys’ haven’t aged quite so well, and it now feels like somewhat of an unbalanced watch and a fraction less successful as an anniversary revival because of it. It is however delivered by some fantastic performances, and serves as a great reminder of just how sharp Bennett can be.

‘The History Boys’ runs at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre until Saturday 12th October 2024, before continuing on its UK tour through to November 2024.

Performance runtime 2 hours 40 minutes including interval.