History Boys by Alan Bennett- Really excellent

 History Boys by Alan Bennett

Really excellent

This is the third work by Alan Bennett that I listen to.
Notwithstanding The Madness of King George and the History Boys films that have been adapted from plays by the same author.
Somehow I am beginning to learn what to expect from Alan Bennett.

The writing is exquisite, sophisticated and modern.
There are some familiar themes, one of which appears to be homosexuality- there has been at least one gay lead character in An Englishman Abroad and the latest play.
Come to think of it, I can’t recall the presence of homosexuals in either The Madness of King George or The Clothes They Stood In…

In The History Boys, it is not only Hector- a teacher and main character- that is gay, but also a few of the others…I am guessing.

At the heart of the story would be education, along with sexual orientation and the intolerance of society towards open gayness.
Albeit, it is perhaps the fact that Hector is his teacher and not as much his groping of a young man at a traffic lights that does it for him.
The look upon the education system is ironic, funny, accurate and somewhat unusual.
Perhaps the most original, although with feminist perspectives gaining ground this might soon be mainstream is the view expressed by Mrs. Lintot:

-          “History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket.”

In order to get his students into Oxford or Cambridge, the headmaster of the school is ready to do almost anything.
He invites a new teacher –Irwin-to his school in Sheffield that has a very unorthodox approach, to say the least
He argues that those who belong to the exams committees in Oxbridge are bored by so many perfect papers
-          In order to get in, you need a point of view that would attract the attention
-          Like talk about the thirty prepuces of Jesus that made the rounds of churches in the Middle Ages…words to that effect
There are some interesting arguments here-
-          Does this mean lying about subjects, are these professors so vain and do they encourage novelty to the expense of real knowledge?
This phenomenon is called at one point Subjunctive history…
-          “It's subjunctive history. You know, the subjunctive? The mood used when something may or may not have happened. When it is imagined.”

Later on, two examples are given of circumstances where history hanged in the balance and depended on rather volatile circumstances

-          After the resignation of Chamberlain, Churchill was not in the lead position to become the next leader. Halifax was and he went to the dentist when the choice was made. The conclusion was that Britain could have lost the war, if Halifax had better teeth.
-          The second had the ascension of General Montgomery. Churchill had opted for another head for the army, but that one was killed in a very unlikely incident with an isolated German plane.

 This is an excellent play and I also loved the film version.
The latter in fact was nominated for BAFTAs and other awards.
The play itself received honors and critical acclaim.

For very good reasons.

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