THE HISTORY BOYS ****

We both enjoyed this revival of Alan Bennett's play - John especially.

The 'History Boys' of the title are a group of eight boys in a northern grammar school in 1983, studying for their Oxbridge entrance History exam in the 3rd Year Sixth. Since John was in a group of six boys in a northern grammar school, studying for their Oxbridge entrance exam in the 3rd Year Sixth - albeit in 1968 and studying English - this play rang a lot of bells.

It's about the meaning and purpose of education. On the one side there's 60-year old Hector (with his somewhat dodgy sexual proclivities) who believes in learning for learning's sake and getting people to think for themselves. On the other there's the much younger Irwin, whose only educational aim is to get the boys through their exams. He does this by reducing everything to intellectual gobbets and encouraging the boys to get themselves noticed by the examiner by, for instance, arguing in favour of Stalin. (I remember doing the same thing at school and arguing against Desdemona!)

Stephen Moore as Hector was brilliant, and so were a couple of the boys. The guy playing Irwin, however, seemed a bit weak to me. He didn't have enough charisma.