Nicholas Hytner's award-winning production of THE HISTORY BOYS returns to the West End
It has been announced that the original, multi-award-winning production of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys will return to London’s West End next year for the first time in 20 years.
Considered one of the best plays of the 21st Century, The History Boys received its world premiere at the National Theatre in 2004 before transferring to the West End and Broadway, winning three Olivier Awards and six Tony Awards and launching the careers of its young cast. Originally directed by multi-award winner Nicholas Hytner and designed by Olivier Award winner Bob Crowley, the two will reunite to bring this seminal production to the Theatre Royal Haymarket for a 16 week engagement from 10 April - 24 July. Casting for the production will be announced in January.
Set against a backdrop of 1980s Britain, Alan Bennett’s history-making play tracks the course of eight schoolboys at an all-boys Grammar School in Sheffield, as they navigate sex, school politics and their teachers’ intellectual battle of wills. Poignant, subversive and deeply funny, The History Boys explores sexuality, adolescence and the nature of history, challenging the purpose of education whilst reflecting the changing face of England.
Nicholas Hytner said: “More than 20 years after it opened at the National Theatre, it’s the right time to be bringing this great and much loved play back to the London stage. I can’t wait to take another look at it, and to introduce it to a new generation of theatre goers. My collaboration with Alan Bennett has been central to my creative life, and it’s a delight to be back in the theatre with him again.”
Alan Bennett said: “The History Boys is one of the happiest plays I've written. Or rather, it was one of the happiest of my plays to write.
“It was also one of the quickest to set down, taking far less than my usual five years. So, something of a record for me.
“The play is full of quotes and has itself become eminently quotable. A joy for any playwright.
“I welcome its return under Nicholas Hytner.”
