Entertainment

The History Boys Returns to the West End After 20 Years

Xanthe BramwellPublished 30m ago2 min readBased on 4 sources
The History Boys Returns to the West End After 20 Years
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels

Alan Bennett's The History Boys is coming back to the West End for the first time in 20 years. Nicholas Hytner is directing the revival at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, according to WhatsOnStage.

The play follows a group of boys hoping to win places at Oxford and Cambridge. It first opened at the National Theatre in 2004 and then moved into the West End and on to Broadway. The original production won three Olivier Awards and six Tony Awards. The Olivier Awards are the main prizes for British theatre, run by the Society of London Theatre. The Tonys are the equivalent honours in New York.

The new production has a set of firm dates. Previews begin on 10 April and the run ends on 24 July, with the official opening coming after the previews. Casting has not yet been announced. The producers say the cast will be revealed in January.

Tickets go on general sale at 9am on 23 October. The production says 20,000 tickets will be available at £25 each. That is a large block of low-priced seats, and it will be the first thing many fans try to buy when the sale opens.

The revival is produced by Brian and Dayna Lee, together with Nicholas Hytner, Len Blavatnik and Danny Cohen for Access Entertainment. Mark Rubinstein is executive producer. Short Street Productions Ltd is handling general management. Bob Crowley is the designer.

The play has a long life beyond the stage. It ran at the National Theatre, in the West End and in regional theatres, with three further casts touring alongside the original. Russell Tovey first played Rudge, one of the schoolboys, at the National Theatre and later reprised the role in the film adaptation. The film also starred James Corden, Dominic Cooper and Stephen Campbell Moore.

For anyone who has seen the play or the film, the news is that the story is coming back to a major London stage. For anyone who has not, it is a chance to see one of Britain's best-known modern school dramas in a theatre built for big audiences. The first cast announcement is due in January.

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