The History Boys (Alan Bennett)
Yesterday we visited Senior British girls now we look into Senior British boys!
(actually I’m quite disappointed that the coincidence was just that and not nearly as intentional as it could have been.)
The History Boys is a play I know about, but I don’t really know why, I couldn’t have told you anything about it before today except that it was referenced in Episodes and is presumably a coming-of-age story, both of which continue to be true.
What I found was a reminiscence, which I suppose all coming-of-age stories are, it being generally unheard of to write movingly about your transition while you’re in the middle of it, of young men pushed to be better than anyone thinks they can be, and succeeding at it, despite their best efforts.
It is, too, about the value of education: is it for its own sake, is it to endow you with facts, or is it there to arm you with the skills to get what you want (regardless of how you use it)? The play looks at eight boys and their three teachers in the waning days of their carefree time in mid-town England.
(I’m translating most of the plot into American terms, I’m not entirely certain if they’re correct)
This private school just boasted the best standardized tests of their tenure and in order to make a push for some of them to clutch at the brass ring of Oxford or Cambridge their headmaster wants to supplement the fanciful and directionless teaching of their beloved Hector with the results-oriented approach of Irwin, a man who seemingly has no shame.
Such as is the way with these things the plot is just a series of episodes of getting to know the boys, their outlook, their prospects, and seeing how they interact with their teachers, and letting us feel this moment in their lives.
As someone who is not quite where he wants to be in life, and had an unusual schooling history as far as America is concerned I was more than a little wistful, a little caught up in the trappings of the story. I found myself wishing to tell my younger self that what unconventional Irwin said was correct “you should hate [upper class private school types]. They’ve been bred to win this race far better than you.” It was moving, and it made me think of my classmates and teachers, most of whom have no need for me in their lives anymore.
The subject is one that I’m more than a little affected by.
That’s to say nothing of what actually occurs, which is the subjects on most men’s minds of that age, and fierce debates as to how to position oneself in society.
And it’s funny. It’s honest-to-god funny with jokes, and situations that spring from the characterizations, and harsh collisions of views and beliefs and weaknesses. It’s deserving of the accolades it received, and I hope I can see a production (or the original cast film) one day.
As a Producer
Here we have a story more closely attuned to Pronoia: funny, bitter, and it has a part for Steven Saltsman. It has a bit of the seriousness that we shy away from right now, but might embrace in the fullness of time and the wizening of years (if we get that far.)
As a Designer
Nothing particular jumps out at me, the blankness of the scenes and the remoteness of the boarding school give a kind of desire to paint certain moments in interesting ways (where do you place the nothing-conversations, where the harsh truths?)
As a Writer
Bennett wrote a play I can’t forget easily: Kafka’s Dick, about Franz Kafka being mysteriously transported to 80’s England, along with his friend Max Bron, and his well-endowed (and demeaning) father. All three men are forced to confront their legacies with literary lovers and ditzy maids alike. It’s a play that melds humor, characterization, and an odd premise, and I love it. But I recognize that it can’t be for everyone.
History Boys has all the humor, all the fun, and all the difficulty of Kafka’s Dick, but mixed with a universality and a stable world that allows it to be invited into more people’s heads. I think I’m in my Kafka’s Dick phase, and I hope to get to my History Boys phase someday.
