Bennett’s wise and compassionate writing shines through in this 20^th anniversary production of ‘The History Boys’, playing at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre as part of its national tour.

With a school system which seems to value exam results above all else, a play which asks what knowledge is, and what education is for, feels as sharp and relevant as it did in 2004. Voted the nation’s favourite play and winner of 30 major awards, Alan Bennett’s story of a group of schoolboys studying for the Oxbridge entrance exams has become a modern classic. Seán Linnen’s excellent production confirms why, combining wit and warmth whilst losing none of the intellectual rigour of the brilliant script.

Set in 1980s Sheffield, the boys of the title are students at Cutlers’ Grammar who, at the start of the play, have just scooped their school the best clutch of A level results ever. Bright academic futures beckon in the hallowed halls of Oxford and Cambridge. It’s a play fizzing with ideas but never feels heavy: philosophical questions about the nature of history and the purpose of education are sensitively explored through an endearing bunch of schoolboys and their wildly different teachers.

‘The History Boys’ has been a favourite play of mine for years thanks to the 2006 film, directed by Nicholas Hytner, which launched the careers of James Corden, Dominic Cooper, Russell Tovey and Jamie Parker among others. As with other plays which have been successfully adapted for the screen, this can be both a blessing and a curse. Audiences may arrive with very particular expectations but the fondness for the story means that we are invested before the first lines are spoken. This was my first time seeing it on stage and it did not disappoint, a new generation of actors breathing fresh life into Bennett’s boys.

A smart revolving set (Grade Smart) transports us from classroom to corridor and Russell Ditchfield’s sound design punctuates the action with 1980s anthems throughout, Soft Cell’s ‘Tainted Love’ setting the opening tone perfectly. The eight actors playing the boys convince immediately as a tight-knit group bound by their shared student experiences. There is warmth and affection underneath the banter, beautifully captured in frequent harmonising as they form a sort of academic chorus line.

Hector, the teacher whose unorthodox approach inspires performances from classic romantic films, is ultimately a pitiable figure: controversial given his abuse of power in fondling the boys who ride pillion on his motorcycle. Simon Rouse is perfectly cast in the role: silliness is combined with a fierce intellect but we feel the underlying melancholy of the outsider. There is a sadness, an emptiness, in his understated manner; it is a disarmingly quiet performance for a man who looms large in the lives of his students. Despite this, early classroom scenes mine the comedy brilliantly, particularly in a brothel skit delivered entirely in French.

Gillian Bevan brings a fond weariness to the role of fellow teacher Mrs Lintott, affectionately known as Tot or Totty by the boys. The only woman in the play, her verdict on male ineptitude (“History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. What is history? History is women following behind. With the bucket”) is delivered with quiet rage.

Milo Twomey’s results-driven Headmaster is, sadly, a recognisable figure in today’s education landscape. He is a man for whom the purpose of education is strictly functional: league tables are all. His decision to bring in temporary supply teacher Irwin to prepare the boys more rigorously for their entrance exams allows Bennett to set up the two opposing approaches to education around which the play revolves. Passing exams or preparing for life? Truth or entertainment? History or histrionics?

Bill Milner is a completely convincing Irwin, the rebel historian who pedals facts as “just the start” and encourages the boys to question commonly held beliefs about historical figures and events. His assertion that the essays written by the boys are “not wrong but dull” speaks to a world in 2024 of entertainment journalism and fake news.

Among the boys, Lewis Cornay’s Posner stands out. As well as a beautiful voice (‘Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered’ is one of many highlights), he captures the insecurities of the character perfectly and has impeccable comic timing: “I'm a Jew... I'm small... I'm homosexual... and I live in Sheffield... I'm fucked.” Archie Christoph-Allen combines charm and self-confidence with a manipulative streak in the role of Dakin and Yazdan Qafouri is a piano-playing delight as Scripps, a gentle soul who we feel a close connection to as the story’s sometime narrator. Teddy Hinge (Timms), Ned Costello (Rudge), Mahesh Parmar (Akthar), Tashinga Bepete (Crowther) and Curtis Kemlo (Lockwood) all give terrific performances as the other ‘history boys’ striving for Oxbridge.

It's a play which leaves you mulling over important questions about life, love, sex, history, education and the utter randomness of it all. Layered, complex, moving, funny and ultimately life-affirming. A top-grade production.

‘The History Boys’ is playing at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry from 8^th to 12^th October 2024.