The History Boys

Sale & Altrincham Messenger's Review

'10/10 for the Garrick's production of The History Boys'

By Rick Bowen

*****

THERE’S something irresistible about a maverick, especially in an age where there are rules for this and targets for that. I find myself drawn to them and I want to be just like them. So it is with Hector, the avuncular schoolmaster in The History Boys. What a pity then, he has to spoil it all by taking the concept of hands on teaching one step too far.

This endearing and enigmatic character has to be one of Alan Bennett’s most captivating creations and Nick Sample gives a performance to remember in Altrincham Garrick’s outstanding production of a theatrical masterpiece.

Mark Dawson as his colleague Irwin is the chalk to Hector’s cheese, a young teacher who is happy to turn out academic clones to keep the school’s head smiling. That contradiction forms the premise of this remarkable piece of writing - should education be about passing exams or should it produce individuals who can think for themselves and bring something different to society? That may sound rather dry, but Bennett handles it with his trademark wit and eloquence. In fact, some of the lines in this play are verbal gold, so brilliant they make you shudder.

While the performances of Sample and Dawson are worth the ticket money on their own, the young actors who play their pupils more than contribute to a very special evening in the theatre. What a pity I don’t have the space to name them all. Magnificent.