THE HISTORY BOYS was written by Alan Bennett, one of the great British playwrights of our time. His career took off following the success of ‘Beyond The Fringe’, which he co-wrote with Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Jonathan Miller for the Edinburgh Festival in 1960.
When THE HISTORY BOYS opened at The National Theatre in London in 2004, it received multiple awards there and on Broadway, including six Tonys, one for Best Play. The film version was released in 2006.
The play is beautifully written. It carries us away and the actors are its vehicle. The protagonist, Hector, announces to his class, “And now, some silly time”, a concept that would have been imbedded in Bennett since his ‘Beyond The Fringe’, Oxford Review days.
Director Jesse Peach has created an energetic and vibrant production.
John Wood plays a quietly eccentric Hector, a constant quoter of his beloved poetry. After many years of teaching and provoking and inspiring his boys, he has adopted the philosophy of “follow me the wise man said, but he walked behind”, rejecting the ‘learn and memorise to pass your exams’ theory.
Hector’s methods are radical and welcomed by his thrill-seeking students, (who improvise lewd theatrical scenes and sing the songs that take their fancy), but are not welcomed by the egocentric, conservative Headmaster, who wishes to groom the boys for Oxford and Cambridge. Paul Goddard creates a wonderful, tyrannical and anally retentive Headmaster, at times reminiscent of Mr Burns from THE SIMPSONS.
The Headmaster’s distrust of Hector leads him to hire a young, fast-thinking teacher to ‘coach’ the boys for their university entrance exams. Irwin is played with great enthusiasm and control by James Mackay.
Irwin encourages the boys to think outside the square, looking for opposing, non-conservative, questioning. He intimates, “Your essays are dull, very dull and won’t attract the attention of examiners”. His ideas are infectious and the boys grow closer to him.
Mrs Lintott is played with intelligence and insight by Heather Mitchell, a wise and smart teacher. She addresses the boys on the subject of males who have always dominated history with somewhat atrocious acts and that women are becoming more relevant now to the writings of history.
All of the students give memorable performances; Caleb Alloway, Simon Brook McLachlan, Gary Brun, Matt Hardie, James Elliott Akthar, Aaron Tsindos and in particular, Matthew Backer as Posner, a likeable, academic and bright Jewish boy, who confesses his homosexuality and love of fellow student Dakin. Backer sings beautifully and is very funny.
The laid-back, witty and sexy character Dakin is played with skill and humour by Lindsay Farris. He looks very at home on stage and is extremely comfortable in his confessions of bi-sexuality. Farris plays the piano very well (along with Caleb Alloway).
There is a dark secret to this play which results in some confronting and sad scenes.
THE HISTORY BOYS is a most enjoyable play and well worth the visit. It plays at the Playhouse, Sydney Opera House, until Tuesday March 12th, 2013
© Bronwyn Fullerton
14th February, 2013
Tags: Sydney Theatre Reviews- THE HISTORY BOYS, Alan Bennett, The Playhouse Sydney Opera House, Jesse Peach, John Wood, Paul Goddard, James Mackay, Heather Mitchell, Caleb Alloway, Simon Brook McLachlan, Gary Brun, Matt Hardie, James Elliott, Aaron Tsindus, Matthew Backer, Lindsay Farris, Elliott Akthar, Sydney Arts Guide, Bronwyn Fullerton
