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Just one thing after another
The History Boys
Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
***** THERE IS always one teacher who sticks in
your mind and in The History Boys Alan Bennett has created Hector
(Richard Hope), a charismatic educator at an unnamed Sheffield grammar
school circa 1980. The eight boys are ostensibly studying history
while he tackles ‘General Studies’ encompassing Gracie Fields, Brief
Encounter, long-dead poets and, with
Scripps (Alex Hope) at the piano, a variety of great songs from
Posner (Steven Roberts). His proclivities are not entirely wholesome and
encompass ‘fiddling’ with one of the boys on his motorbike journeys
home. The headmaster’s (Christopher Ettridge) blind eye mostly operates
though his chief concern seems to be that it happens at 50 mile per
hour! The boys are highly gifted, post A-level Oxbridge
history hopefuls with a warmth and wit, and a knowing sexual awareness
way beyond their years. Dakin (Kedar Williams-Stirling) is chief of the
tribe and Hector, Posner, Fiona the headmaster’s secretary (Melody Brown
- horribly underused) and finally Irvin (Mark Field) fall in love with
him. Irvin as new supply teacher, looking uncannily like a young Alan
Bennett, has been brought in from ‘ Irvin’s arrival at the school and the vast
changes in relationships are the chief concern of the play which was
voted ‘favourite’ play by English Touring Theatre last year. The play, directed by Kate Saxon, is a wonder in
itself: there are such layers within it. You can dig where you like and
still mine gems. Education is the biggest theme, with the dichotomy
between teaching for exams and education for life the target. There’s the theme of relationships between
teacher and pupil that’s beyond regulation, and there’s the peer
relationships that made me wish heartily I’d attended a school like
this: the warmth, trust and honesty as they mature is lovely to watch. The boys know themselves and their peers and
forgive eccentricities as they do Hector’s; Posner deliberates that he
is small, Jewish and from Sheffield and stands no chance. That’s not
quite how he puts it and the rich Anglo-Saxon expressions, including
from the Headmaster and Totty give a raw edge. The quotation from this play that is in itself
rich in quotation is from Rudge (David Young), a character who succeeds
despite expectations, who says in his ‘mock’ Oxbridge interview that
‘History is just one f***ing thing after another’. Great play, great
cast, great set. Go see. To 07-02-15 Jane Howard
04-02-15
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