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Review
A superb, life-enhancing play -- Guardian
Intensely moving as well as thought-provoking and funny' -- Daily Telegraph
Alan Bennett's brilliant, linguists ear for language makes this play a true delight, echoing in the mind long after the talking has ceased -- Good Book Guide
Intensely moving as well as thought-provoking and funny' -- Daily Telegraph
Alan Bennett's brilliant, linguists ear for language makes this play a true delight, echoing in the mind long after the talking has ceased -- Good Book Guide
Review
"Nothing could diminish the incendiary achievement of this subtle, deep-wrought and immensely funny play about the value and meaning of education . . . In short, a superb, life-enhancing play." --"The Guardian"
"Brilliantly funny . . . "The History Boys" is moving, disquieting: one follows it with a heart brimful . . . His finest work in decades." --"Financial Times"
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"Brilliantly funny . . . "The History Boys" is moving, disquieting: one follows it with a heart brimful . . . His finest work in decades." --"Financial Times"
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 72 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The latest play from Alan Bennet proves both funny, thought-proking and currently hugely successful at the NT. The characters are all beautifully created and lovable, from the confused homosexual youth Posner to the stressed, icy Headmaster, obsessed with league tables and results. The witty one liners and amusing comments,especially from Mrs Lintott, contribute to an extremely funny backdrop to a deeply serious play, where the issues of the purpose of education, homosexuality and the inevitable competition of youth are addressed and debated. The "History Boys" themselves successfully represent the thousands of hopeful Oxbridge candidates each year, all of them experiencing the highs and the lows of studying and the joy of learning, making this play a timeless jem.
The teacher Hector, whom Richard Griffiths is currently portraying with great conviction at the NT, is intellectually brilliant and extremely impressive, and yet, he is just a fallible human being with temptations and desires that finally get the better of him. This point is so tragic and powerful it evokes great sympathy from the reader and adds to the effectiveness of the play.
A thoroughly enjoyable play to light up both the stage and the mind. It is one of the rare plays that you feel you can watch time and time again, learning something new each time.
The teacher Hector, whom Richard Griffiths is currently portraying with great conviction at the NT, is intellectually brilliant and extremely impressive, and yet, he is just a fallible human being with temptations and desires that finally get the better of him. This point is so tragic and powerful it evokes great sympathy from the reader and adds to the effectiveness of the play.
A thoroughly enjoyable play to light up both the stage and the mind. It is one of the rare plays that you feel you can watch time and time again, learning something new each time.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I saw The History Boys on their Australian tour and since it was sold out and I could not see it again I had to buy this audio version to satisfy my desire.
I'm not sure that all of the magic of the stage production is able to carry through to an audio play, but it is good listen anyway.
It is an incredibly witty piece of entertainment, thoroughly enjoyable, and reminded me so much of my own school memories of the all boys school I went to. The struggle between the two intelligent school teachers - Irwin and Hector - over the souls of the boys they teach could perhaps appear unlikely to those who missed out on having such teachers, but it reflects my experience as well. Bennett wavers (or seems to) between taking sides in their not unimportant dispute, but (or therefore?) is good enough of a writer or human being not to load the dice in the favour of one over the other.
More superficially: Samuel Barnett (my favourite) sings and acts wonderfully, all the boys are mischievously fun, and the cast is all round excellent.
I'm not sure that all of the magic of the stage production is able to carry through to an audio play, but it is good listen anyway.
It is an incredibly witty piece of entertainment, thoroughly enjoyable, and reminded me so much of my own school memories of the all boys school I went to. The struggle between the two intelligent school teachers - Irwin and Hector - over the souls of the boys they teach could perhaps appear unlikely to those who missed out on having such teachers, but it reflects my experience as well. Bennett wavers (or seems to) between taking sides in their not unimportant dispute, but (or therefore?) is good enough of a writer or human being not to load the dice in the favour of one over the other.
More superficially: Samuel Barnett (my favourite) sings and acts wonderfully, all the boys are mischievously fun, and the cast is all round excellent.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I have seen the History Boys twice at the National Theatre, the first time with the cast that appears on this BBC CD recording. Bennett has produced a gem of a play, dark in places of course but full of light and shade especially when the ensemble cast are fully in their stride. The musical interludes are a joy and the CD version gives full rein to the superb Richard Griffiths. One can only really appreciate this play in full by experiencing the live version on stage. But for fans of Bennett, this beautifully crafted BBC radio production is one that will be taken from the CD rack on a regular basis for an evening's listening. Thoroughly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Delivery:poor play:unsure
I ordered this scriptbook of History boys for a GCSE assesment and i ordered it on the 22nd of october and yet it hasn't arrived. Read more
Published 7 months ago by emmaaa
A Gem
Bennett's writing is dry, incisive and haunting. This is the film script he wrote with the director Nicholas Hytner for the film adaptation of the play that was staged to huge... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley
History Boys
This book has really come in handy for my school work. I haven't read it yet but I've heard it's a good book. Thank you. :)
Published 7 months ago by Karen
"Pass it on"
Unless you can get yourself to a theatre to watch The History Boys in all it's glory, I really would recommend that you read this instead of watch it. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Chloe.A.B
Great listen!
We've seen the play twice and had our own copy on cd so we knew it would be a good listen and a good present for a friend, but were still pleased to receive a fulsome 'thank you'... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mr. A. J. Moore
Thoughtful and engrossing, with (mostly) pitch-perfect observations
Authors often enough write a character who can act as their own voice in a play, but in The History Boys Alan Bennett seems to have provided at least five. Read more
Published 15 months ago by davidT
A minor play?
Not quite forty years on from Forty Years On, Alan Bennett returned to the subject of a school and education in a play that seems to have acquired a great deal of affection from... Read more
Published 19 months ago by nickmoon42
Excellent Production and Radio Drama
I love radio drama, so I bought this BBC Audio production CD box after having watched the movie on DVD. I was not disappointed! Read more
Published on 20 April 2009 by Steffen Bretzke
film is much better than the book
The book, written in the form of a play, is total rubbish, or maybe I did not understand all the hidden meanings . The film is good, though. Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2008 by Mark Billinge
A multi-layered look at adolescence
The play blends comedy with tragedy and has many layers and themes. Whilst the story is ostensibly about education and, in particular, the teaching of talented pupils on the cusp... Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2008 by P. S. Briggs
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