The History Boys
★★★★☆ Intelligent
Bedlam Theatre: Tue 3 – Sat 7 Feb 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
Energy, fine acting and a great deal of thought characterise The History Boys at the Bedlam, where it runs through to Saturday.
Theatre Paradok’s production (with support from the University of Edinburgh Department of English and Scottish Literature) locates the poetry that has sometimes gone missing in stagings of Alan Bennett’s 2004 play.
Ava Godfrey, Darcey Chong, Lila Dhiri, Kit Chatterton, Eric Parker, Bella Burgess and Theodore Casimir-Lambert. Pic: Emily Sharp.
The work, about a group of Oxbridge examination candidates at a 1980s Sheffield grammar school, has been voted the nation’s favourite play but has dated badly in many ways, not least in its flippant treatment of sexual abuse.
In truth, although apparently set in the 80s, the setting is in some ways more reminiscent of Bennett’s own teenage years in its cultural references and academic concerns. In other respects it seems to be a time far removed from either period (for example, other than the headteacher, no-one in the school displays even a hint of homophobia).
Some other things have been overtaken by history (memorably characterised here as being ‘one fucking thing after another’). Irwin, the new teacher sent to coach the boys for their exams, says that truth is not a central concern in historical study; a heretical thought when the play was written, but one that seems quaint now that political leaders brag about lying constantly and brazenly with no-one giving any thought to it.
thought-provoking and stimulating
Similarly, the religious belief of the character of Scripps is presented as outdated and peculiar; Bennett could hardly have imagined that twenty years on a bizarre descendant of Victorian muscular Christianity could be the guiding principle of so many Western governments and a chief culprit in the ‘othering’ of minorities.
That such considerations occur as a result of this version shows how thought-provoking and stimulating it is. Under the intelligent direction of Lauren Green, there is considerable energy and drive in a production that is streets ahead of some recent professional revivals of the play.
Ava Godfrey, Theodore Casimir-Lambert, Darcey Chong, Eric Parker and Kit Chatterton. Pic: Emily Sharp.
Much of this impetus comes from the gender-blind casting of the titular boys, who are played with glee and chutzpah. Eric Parker plays the self-confident Dakin with swagger and the merest hint of vulnerability. Darcey Chong is thoroughly sympathetic as the younger Posner who pines after him.
Ava Godfrey displays first-rate comic timing as the sporty Rudge, while Theodore Casimir-Lambert, Olivia Dale, Kit Chatterton and Lila Dhiri are strong individually and collectively as the other pupils.
Bella Burgess as the sometime narrator Scripps deserves special mention. It is occasionally necessary in student productions to excuse a little self-consciousness, but there isn’t a trace of that here. It is rare on any stage to see a performer embody a character so completely as Burgess does here; she also provides some notable piano playing to accompany Chong’s excellent singing.
oddly touching
Music is used extremely well throughout the production. The first few seconds of period-appropriate songs accompany the speedy and elegant scene changes, providing colour and giving oldsters and connoisseurs opportunities to play Name That Tune. The version of Bye Bye Blackbird at the conclusion is oddly touching; a cast-performed version of Under Pressure is less successful.
Zephyrus Pettitt and Megan Crutchley. Pic: Emily Sharp.
For a young cast, playing the older characters is often something of a stretch, but here it is generally successful. Zephyrus Pettitt is always going to be too youthful for the apparently inspiring Hector, but has a creditable stab at playing an older soul. That the character is apparently portrayed sympathetically in the play is always going to be an insurmountable problem.
Lucas Knepper, as the repressed Irwin, often appears on the verge of twisting himself in knots, and gives the character considerable depth. Aquilah, as the self-serving headteacher Felix, is convincingly sleekit, while Megan Crutchley, as history teacher Dorothy Lintott, has real presence and praiseworthy comic nous.
inventive and effective
A problem with the performers playing the teachers is that they are sometimes too quiet. This isn’t helped by having scenes set outside the classroom played at the side of the auditorium, causing problems with audibility (and visibility) for some.
Otherwise, the acting space is used intelligently, with the stage design from co-set managers Danby Lee and Madeleine McQuillan, being inventive and effective.
Indeed, there is so much of this production that could be characterised as such. It’s problems are all technical ones, rather than being the fault of any overall conception. This is a long old play by modern standards, but it whizzes by.
There is considerable theatrical intelligence at work here – enough, even, to make those of us who believed the play to be vastly overrated think again.
Running time: Two hours 50 minutes including one interval
Bedlam Theatre, 11B Bristo Place, EH1 1EZ
Tuesday 3 – Saturday 7 February 2026
Daily at 7.30 pm
Tickets and details: Book here.
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Lila Dhiri and Theodore Casimir-Lambert with Kit Chatterton. Pic: Emily Sharp.
ENDS
