The History Boys

There's no question that Alan Bennett's play The History Boys is a beautifully written, classic piece of theatre. But does the current production staged by Peach Production Company tease out every nuance and take advantage of all the underlying subtleties in the script?

Overall this is an earnest attempt at realising what is a very sophisticated story and for the most part the audience appeared to enjoy it. But in his direction Jesse Peach does go for obvious choices, rather than digging deep under the surface of Bennett's text and uncovering the vast richness of the story. It is at times predictable and a bit cliched.

The story is underpinned by the strong cast of experienced actors with standout performances from Matt Hardie as Timms, Matthew Backer as Posner and Lindsay Farris as Dakin. But there is also a sense of it being under-rehearsed, which is evident in the slight uncertainty in some of the actors’ choices. And at times the pacing, particularly in the second half is sluggish and laboured.

The technical aspects and set design are simple and serve the story well enough without being overly intrusive or taking focus off the story. Staging this production in the smaller Playhouse theatre at the Sydney Opera House is a wise choice as it does give the show an intimacy with the audience.

This production of The History Boys will not necessarily go down in the annals of history as being a stellar standout, but it does make for a decent night out at the theatre.

Whitney Fitzsimmons

Photographer: Geny Brun