History Boys Return

Sell a Door revival arrives King’s in March 2015

Allan Bennett’s The History Boys is to tour the UK next year, visiting the King’s Theatre in March,  in a new production from Sell a Door and the English Touring Theatre with 200 free tickets on offer.

The play has won over 30 major awards since it premiered at the National Theatre in 2004. It was voted the nations favourite play in a recent national survey conducted by English Touring Theatre to celebrate its 21st birthday.

Last seen at the King’s in 2010 in the West Yorkshire Playhouse production (reviewed here) The History Boys is the story of an octet of bright, funny and unruly sixth-formers in pursuit of sex, sport and a place at university.

Their maverick English teacher Hector – played by Richard Griffiths in both  the original production and the 2006 film – is at odds with the young and shrewd supply teacher, whilst their headmaster is obsessed with results and league tables.

David Hutchinson, Sell a Door’s artistic director, said: “We are delighted to be launching our 2015 season with the UK revival tour of the nation’s favourite play by one of Britain’s most cherished playwrights.

Free tickets

“Sell a Door prides itself on engaging young adults in live theatre, and our partnership with English Touring Theatre subsidising free tickets will allow hundreds of first time patrons to see this critically acclaimed play.”

The company was last seen in Edinburgh at the King’s in June with their production of Avenue Q (reviewed here) and is also bringing its new production of Sunset Song to the theatre for a five night run this October 7 (details).

The History Boys will be directed by Kate Saxon, whose recent credits include God of Carnage for Royal & Derngate and Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing for the English Touring Theatre, both in 2012. She is currently directing on Eastenders after directing a few episodes of the soap in 2013. Casting for the production has yet to be announced.

English Touring Theatre is running a competition to give away 100 pairs of free tickets to The History Boys throughout the 2015 tour. As part of their commitment to growing audiences and increasing access to regional theatre, applications are open to anyone who has never attended their local theatre before. To apply, visit www.ett.org.uk/21-birthday/the-history-boys, where there is a pop-up entry form at the bottom of the page.

The History Boys
King’s Theatre, 2 Leven Street EH3 9LQ
Tuesday 17 – Saturday 21 March 2015
Evenings 7:30pm; Matinees Wed and Sat 2:30pm
Tickets from: www.edtheatres.com/historyboys
Tour website: www.historyboysuk.com

ENDS

Tags: David Hutchinson, Kate Saxon, King's Theatre, News, Production News, The History Boys, Theatre