The History Boys returns to West End after 20 years

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 09:20 · Archive

Alan Bennett's play The History Boys is returning to the West End for the first time in 20 years. The production will open at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on 10 April for a 16-week run.

The original 2004 National Theatre production won three Olivier Awards and six Tony Awards before transferring to Broadway. It was last in the West End from December 2007 to April 2008. The play, set in 1980s Sheffield, follows eight boys at a grammar school preparing for university entrance exams as two teachers take opposing approaches to their education. It launched the careers of James Corden, Russell Tovey, Dominic Cooper, Jamie Parker and Samuel Barnett, who appeared in the 2006 film adaptation.

Director Nicholas Hytner and original designer Bob Crowley have reunited for the new run. Hytner said it was the right time to bring the play back and introduce it to a new generation. He warned of an 'almost terminal decline' in humanities teaching in state schools, saying the play's themes about the value of literature and history for their own sake felt especially relevant to current debates about school curricula.

How it is being reported

• West End to get another lesson from The History Boys two decades onNation’s favourite play makes London comeback amid renewed debate about future of humanities teaching The History Boys is to return to the West End for the first time in two decades, with a warning from its director of an “almost terminal decline” in humanities teaching in state schools. Nicholas Hytner, who directed Alan Bennett’s play at the National Theatre and its 2006 film adaptation , said the themes of education, history and the value of literature for its own sake felt especially relevant amid renewed debate about what schools should teach. Continue reading...The Guardian · 22 Oct, 09:00
• The History Boys returns to the West End for first time in 20 yearsAlan Bennett’s play follows eight schoolboys at an all-boys grammar school in Sheffield.Evening Standard · 22 Oct, 09:00

In this story: Alan Bennett · Nicholas Hytner · James Corden · Russell Tovey · National Theatre · Theatre Royal Haymarket · Sheffield

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