Review-The History Boys (4.21.06)

The History Boys (Friday, 4.21.06)
Broadhurst Theatre, New York, NY

By: Alan Bennett

Starring: Sacha Dhawan (Akthar), Rudi Dharmalingam (Crowther, u/s), Dominic Cooper (Dakin), Andrew Knott (Lockwood), Samuel Barnett (Posner), Russell Tovey (Rudge), Jamie Parker (Scripps), James Corden (Timms), Clive Merrison (Headmaster), Frances de la Tour (Mrs. Lintott), Richard Griffiths (Hector), Stephen Campbell Moore (Irwin)

A classroom full of bright and articulate English schoolboys studying for their college placement exams. The play threatens to be just an ordinary exercise, filled with cliché. But instead, this History Boys is a lively and entertaining romp, one that is neither too English nor too pedantic to inhabit the Broadway stage.

Nicholas Hytner, who directed this piece to great success at the National Theatre in London, presents the show in highly stylized fashion, covering on-stage set changes by projecting images on a large screen set to 80s music. The images are of the cast themselves, simulating walking through halls or even riding on a motorcycle. The projections are at first jarring, but since they are connected to the action in the play, they work within that framework.

The show centers around the class led by Hector (Richard Griffiths), a beloved teacher who relishes in knowledge for the sake of knowledge. He is unconcerned with the task of actually preparing the students for their exams. The principal, however, is more concerned with getting his students into Oxford and Cambridge. He brings in Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore) and young and bright teacher whose philosophy approximates style over substance. Irwin teaches the students that the truth doesn’t matter, and the students take it to heart.

This play works principally because of Bennett’s wonderful use of language. Everyone, from the teachers to the quietest students, communicates beautifully and appropriately (even if not beautifully, it is appropriate). The dialogue is fast-paced and provoking, and so it sparkles as delivered by the cast.

It doesn’t hurt that the dialogue is so beautifully rendered by the superb cast, largely intact from London. Richard Griffiths persona is as large as his girth. He is a tremendous presence, and a sad one where appropriate. He manages never to be hateful, even as the revelation of his molestation of his students comes to light. Also excellent are Stephen Campbell Moore as the sexy new teacher who captivates his students’ attention, and each of the students is fantastic, particularly Samuel Barnett as the sensitive Posner and Dominic Cooper as the magnetic Dakin.

In the end, the main flaw with The History Boys is that its hard to discern if the play has anything to say. Sure, it’s fun to watch and listen to the playful language, but the impact is blunted by the absence of any discernible message. We are never really sure who wins -- Irwin’s style over substance, or Hector’s knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Or perhaps that’s the point. In any event, as an eye into a particular view of life, the History Boys is really tremendous, and the highly stylized presentation is extremely entertaining and even moving.