History Men
Canfordian Rob Graham reviews the Court House play, ‘The History Boys’
3 – 5 November 2008
The pupils of Court House recently performed their House play, ‘The History Boys’, a play by Alan Bennett, in the Layard Theatre to pupils, parents and staff. I had been won over by the quality of Court House’s previous drama effort, a black comedy, and so was very much looking forward to this next offering.
The story is of 8 A-level students from a grammar school in Sheffield. It is the Headmaster’s (played by Will O’Rourke) main aim to get his 8 most academic boys into Oxbridge to improve the league position of the school. As such he employs Irwin - played by Tom Panton, whose role of director did not impose on his excellent performance – a teacher brought in especially to teach the boys history in a way which will get them entries into the country’s top two university.
The acting of Simon Hanley was a particular highlight. He played arguably the main role as Dakin, the cleverest of the 8 boys who manages to get a scholarship to one of the colleges. He showed the contrast of his admiration of Irwin and his status as the ‘coolest’ of the gang, while his explicit proposal for Irwin near the end of the play was delivered hilariously, receiving a chorus of laughs from the Wednesday evening audience.
James Dix invoked great sympathy with his portrayal as Posner, a young Jew who experiences affectionate feelings for Dakin. He is the one who has the most troubles in the play, and his performance gave the audience a true understanding of his troubles to fit in. Notable comic highlights were Elliot Hawkins’ character, Timms, acting as a prostitute for Dakin in a French lesson where the whole scene is acted in (understandably slightly basic) French, and the clever delivery and timing of lines from Ed Thomas (as Rudge) and Will O’Rourke. Excellent performances all round in a thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking take on Alan Bennett’s classic.
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