The History Boys

Alan Bennett has deservedly built up a reputation as one of our greatest playwrights with a flair for satire (Beyond the Fringe), pathos (Talking Heads) and dramatic insight (The Madness of George III).  Tonight was the first time I have seen the History Boys and also Spotlight Theatre Company in non-musical mode, and I am very glad to say that the production had many strengths that combined to deliver a very satisfying piece of theatre.

The History Boys is very much an ensemble piece.  The ‘Boys’ and Adults have equally important individual story arcs that both interconnect and develop independently throughout the evening and into the future paths their lives take after the schooldays are over.

First the ‘Boys’.   Joe Smith brought a sense a fun, compassion and awakening (both sexual and scholastic) to Dakin that made him a very three-dimensional character.  Patrick McCrystal  again made Scipps a strong and sympathetic role model for the ‘emotionally younger’ members of the group. Alexander Tilley used his strong singing talents to bring an almost ethereal quality to Posner which made his fall into mediocrity in later life all the more tragic.  Matty Collins made Timms the joker in the pack, always there to emphasise the comedy (and tragedy) of their situation.  Stan Cook, Jack Grace-Buttershaw, Nathan Bull and Alec Boaden each brought great timing and enthusiasm to Rudge, Crowther, Aktar and Lockwood.

Turning now to the Adults – at the heart of the play is the relationship between Hector (Robert Goll) and Irwin (Alex Huntley) and the different influences they have on the Boys as they both try, in their different ways, to help them think, challenge and develop enquiring minds. 
Throughout the evening Robert brought out the complexity and contradictions of Hector who through his General Studies lessons behind closed doors, arouses suspicions by his peers but allows the Boys to let their imaginations run riot in a ‘safe’ environment. Great depth of character development made Hector a very sympathetic character and in no way a caricature.

Alex’s delivery style was at first a little hard to penetrate being so clipped, staccato and rapid but as your ear became tuned this style then added to the neurotic, insecure yet overconfident characteristics of Irwin as he provides the disruptive catalyst to the boys development needed to be accepted through the Oxbridge selection process. 

Jackie Dunn and Mike Butler (Mrs Linott and Headmaster) provided strong support to the production with Jackie providing a strong female role model for the boys and also enabling the audience to challenge the almost exclusively male viewpoint of the play.
Cassie Hall and the whole production team should be suitably proud of this production – the performances were well judged, scene changes by the cast kept the momentum of the production moving and the lighting and sound design enhanced the focus of the action throughout the production.  I look forward to the next Spotlight production.
 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.