The History Boys is a play by English playwright Alan Bennett. The play premiered at the Lyttelton Theatre in London on 18 May 2004. Its Broadway debut was on 23 April 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre where there were 185 performances staged before it closed on 1 October 2006.

THE HISTORY BOYS TICKETS Cirque du Soleil Tickets Wicked Tickets The Great Gatsby - Theatrical Production Hamilton Tickets MJ - The Musical Tickets The Lion King Tickets

Characters

• Headmaster (Felix Armstrong) - Headmaster of Cutlers' Grammar School, Sheffield
• (Douglas) Hector - English/General Studies teacher
• Irwin - History teacher; brought in as a special coach
• Mrs (Dorothy) Lintott - History teacher
• (Adil) Akthar - Pupil; of Asian ancestry, Muslim
• (Christopher) Crowther - Pupil; of Black British ancestry
• (Stuart) Dakin - Pupil; handsome, object of Posner's affection
• (James) Lockwood - Pupil
• (David) Posner - Pupil; youngest, gay and Jewish
• (Peter) Rudge - Pupil; better known for athletic skills than for intelligence
• (Donald) Scripps - Pupil; Anglican, plays piano
• (Anthony) Timms - Pupil; overweight
• There is a brief role for a Director on Irwin's television programme

The following are non-speaking roles:

• Make-Up Woman , Production team - on Irwin's television show
• Three or four unidentified MP's - spoken to by Irwin in opening scene
• Other male pupils (optional, can help with scene changes and/or play piano if the actor cast as Scripps cannot)
• Fiona (Proctor) (unseen save for in-play films) - Headmaster's secretary; object of Dakin's affection/lust

Plot synopsis

The action of the play takes place in Cutlers' Grammar School, Sheffield, a fictional boys' grammar school in the north of England. Set in the early 1980s, the play follows a group of history pupils preparing for the Oxbridge entrance examinations under the guidance of three teachers (Hector, Irwin and Lintott) with contrasting styles.

Irwin teaches the boys an essay style consisting of brisk generalities flavoured with sufficient facts and quotations to engage the examiner's interest. He teaches the boys to find a (sometimes controversial) angle on a point in history and find evidence to support it, enabling the student to support an unorthodox, distinctive and less than truthful perspective of history. He believes the truth is irrelevant when it comes to finding a stance that will make his pupils stand out in the eyes of the examination board. This method is one of 'false pretences', which Bennett felt he had had to teach himself in order to succeed in examinations, an academic pursuit with which he constantly had trouble. Hector, by contrast, wishes to teach knowledge, especially English Literature, for its own intrinsic value, hoping his students will benefit greatly from his influence. He wants the boys to become cultured, rounded human beings and believes that Irwin's contrived methods are practically indecent. Exams are the enemy of all that he stands for.

Productions

;Royal National Theatre: The play opened at the Lyttelton Theatre (part of the National Theatre) in London on 18 May 2004 where it played to sell-out audiences and its limited run was frequently extended. On 24 November 2005, the same production was revived once again at the Lyttelton Theatre where it played another successful run, the original cast reuniting in the final week in February 2006.

;International Tour: Following closing in London, the National Theatre production toured to Hong Kong in February 2006 and featured in the 2006 New Zealand International Arts Festival held in Wellington (February 2006) before playing at the Sydney Theatre in Sydney, Australia from March 4 to April 8 2006. At each venue, the play was presented to sell-out audiences with the original London cast, including Richard Griffiths; however, Frances de la Tour was replaced by Maggie Steed until the Broadway season.

;Broadway: The American premiere of the play took place on April 23 2006 when the same National production opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre. Originally scheduled to run through September 2 2006, the run was extended through to October 8 2006 following huge public demand in the aftermath of sweeping the Tony, New York Critics Circle and other American theatrical awards.

;West End: Following its Broadway triumph and second UK tour, the play opened at London's Wyndham's Theatre on 2 January 2007, following previews from 20 December 2006. The production closed on 14 April 2007. A further West End run of the play opened once again at the Wyndham's Theatre on 20 December 2007 running through 26 April 2008.

;UK National Tours: The first UK tour of the production opened in 2005, continuing to play nine regional venues. A second UK tour began on the 31 August 2006 at the Birmingham Rep, touring to eight further venues. The latest (third) UK tour launched on 6 September 2007 at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, before continuing to Truro, Cheltenham, Bath, Dublin, Blackpool, Leeds, Cambridge and Eastbourne before culminating in Newcastle on 10 November 2007.

;Other Productions: The play had its southwest USA premier at Uptown Players, in Dallas, from Apr3-May3 2009. The first non-professional UK production of The History Boys was staged by Daisy and Rose Theatre Productions at Ermysted's Grammar School in Skipton, North Yorkshire, between August 28th-30th 2008 ^[1]. The play made its Chicago premiere on April 25, 2009, at TimeLine Theatre. A South Australian production (www.mixedsalad.com.au) was be staged at the Holden Street Theatre between June 3-20 2009. The play will make its amateur debut in Melbourne, Australia, performed by Boroondara Theatre Company at the Cromwell Road Theatre from 18-25 July 2009 (www.historyboys.com.au). The play made it's Pittsburgh professional debut at Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre on August 8-22. This production will mark the first time a professional regional theatre has ever streamed a live performance of a show online as it happens, on the night of August 15th 8:00pm Eastern (see www.LIPLO.com).

Royal National Theatre casts

Role	First cast (18 May 2004 to 2005, 23 January 2006 to 1 February 2006, international tour, film adaptation)	Second cast (24 November 2005 to January 2006), UK tour	Third cast (31 August 2006 to 14 April 2007)	Fourth cast (6 September 2007 to 26 April 2008)
Headmaster	Clive Merrison Malcolm Sinclair (23 January 2006 to 28 January 2006)	Bruce Alexander	William Chubb	David Mallinson
Hector	Richard Griffiths	Desmond Barrit	Stephen Moore	Desmond Barrit
Irwin	Stephen Campbell Moore Geoffrey Streatfield (20 December 2004 to 2005)	Tobias Menzies	Orlando Wells	Tim Delap
Mrs Lintott	Frances de la Tour Maggie Steed (23 January 2006 to 28 January 2006, international tour until Broadway)	Diane Fletcher	Isla Blair	Elizabeth Bell
Akthar	Sacha Dhawan	Marc Elliot	Marc Elliot	Alton Letto
Crowther	Samuel Anderson	Kenny Thompson	Akemnji Ndifornyen	Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
Dakin	Dominic Cooper	Jamie King	Ben Barnes (pre February 2007) Jamie King (post February 2007)	Andrew Hawley
Lockwood	Andrew Knott	Matt Smith	David Poynor	Sam Phillips
Posner	Samuel Barnett	Steven Webb	Steven Webb	Daniel Fine
Rudge	Russell Tovey	Phillip Correla	Phillip Correla	Ryan Hawley
Scripps	Jamie Parker	Thomas Morrison	Thomas Morrison	Thomas Howes
Timms	James Corden	James Cartwright	Owain Arthur	Danny Kirrane

Film adaptation

In October 2006 a film adaptation of the play was released in the United States, and later in November 2006 in the United Kingdom. The film was directed by Hytner and featured the original stage cast.

Awards and nominations

;Awards

• 2004 Evening Standard Award for Best Play
• 2005 Olivier Award for Best New Play
• 2006 Drama Desk Award for Best New Play
• 2006 New York Drama Critics' Circle Best Play
• 2006 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Broadway Play
• 2006 Tony Award for Best Play

References

1. Ambitious debut for theatre group