What a pleasure to be in the presence of the product of a sparklingly brilliant mind. Alan Bennett's The History Boys is full of wit and wisdom in his construct of an English boy's school presented as an intellectual swordfight with musical interludes and film clips. It is so smart, it is thrilling.
The superb English cast, as directed by Nicholas Hytner, is polished, perfectly timed, totally communicative in delivering the intricate intellectual ideas, fascinating literary analyses, and emotional turmoils. Basically, as the boys study for entrance exams for Oxford and Cambridge under the tutelage of an old and a new teacher, the play satirizes the use of words and language while using them brilliantly. There is, of course, a little bit of sexual diddling referred to, but that is totally subservient to the wordplay and interchange of ideas and concepts.
Bob Crowley's set is, as usual, a dazzler, nicely enhanced by Mark Henderson's lighting. If you don't see History Boys, you're missing something special.
