The Nicholas Hytner-era National Theatre was a commercial and cultural juggernaut and yoiu’d struggle to say it had a single emblematic hit: War Horse? One Man, Two Guvnors? The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time? All massive hits but in terms of a single piece of new writing that definied the era it has to be Alan Bennett’s late career smash The History Boys, an account of an unruly class of Sheffield grammar school pupils and their inspirational but morally ambiguous history teacher Hector that took the nation by storm and launched a generation of young male stars.
Twenty years down the line, Hytner is revisiting it for a limited run at the Haymarket, in what we’re seemingly promised will be something a little more involved than a facimile of the original 2004 production. It feels like both money in the bank and quite a daring gesture to risk the play’s reputation: while Bennett doesn’t condone Hector’s worst actions, you can imagine any revival in a post-#MeToo, post-Russell Brand-era as liable to cause controversy.
Time will tell, and it ma be that the revival – currently looking at a single average length limited run – will drift by without causing a fuss. The other thing worth looking out for is who gets cast: although some haven’t forgiven the original production for giving us James Corden, it did undeniably launch – or at least showcase - a whole host of future stars, and it”ll be fascinating to see if Hytner and co can pull it off again.
