Production:  The History Boys

Company:  Arts Club Theatre Company

Writer:  Alan Bennett

Director:  Dean Paul Gibson

Actors:  Pablo Silveira, Vincent Tong, Charlie Carrick, Daniel Johnston, Daniel Karasik, Kyle Cameron, Danny Coleman, Gord Myren, Duncan Fraser, Jane Noble, Bernard Cuffling, Kirk Smith

Theatre:  Granville Island Stage

Run:  September 25, 2008 – October 25

Reviewed By: Melanie Shim (Vancouver Correspondent – Canada)

History class was always one of my favourites.  My teacher was an educator come comedian, which heightened my interest for the past by tenfold.  He soon convinced me that history was indeed more than a chronology of reactionary events; rather, history is a narrative with doubtful truths and controversial facts that are always up for debate.  In fact, the thought of discovering exactly why events happened was always much more fun than the end results.  In a way, The History Boys was like a history class; the getting there was more amusing than the actual destination.  While the end seemed a bit mediocre, the journey there more than made up for it.

Delightfully witty and incredibly dry, History Boys is an excellent comedic play about a group of cheeky, yet intellectual boys, who are caught between being loyal to a beloved teacher and allowing a new instructor to open up their minds.  The ever prominent problem of unclear student/teacher relationships make the boys question their own values and morals, but more importantly – they question their own identity.

At first, the English accents were difficult to understand; not because they were badly performed, but rather because my ears are too accustomed to my own Canadianized English.  In fact, I was very impressed with all the actors and their commitment in keeping their foreign accents.  My own brand of foreign accents is amusingly atrocious and quite embarrassing.

Furthermore, the comedic timing was practically perfect in every way.  Every actor understood the comedy in the script and was further encouraged by the engaging audience.  The entire ensemble didn’t miss a beat and created a great sense of camaraderie between the actors.  Notably, Bernard Cuffling as Hector, the teacher favoured the most, was positively charming in an absent-minded English professor sort of way.  Disorganized, yet prepared; unusual, yet approachable, Cuffling had me feeling nostalgic and captivated as a character that embodied everything I liked about all of my favourite professors.

And although I enjoyed the actors very much, I found that the play itself lacked both a plot of some sort and much character development.  Instead, the audience receives small anecdotes or mini monologues (or vocal stylings, in the case with Daniel Karasik’s Posner); still I did not get a good grasp what kind of characters these boys really are.  Even now, I have trouble remembering an actor’s face with their character name.  And even the play’s climax was sudden and really came out of nowhere; the denouement was also abrupt and really didn’t provide a strong enough ending.

But overall, I really did enjoy The History Boys.  Hilariously clever and decidingly poignant at times, History Boys is rather inappropriate, but still terribly amusing.  Despite the strange plot and the lack of better character development, all of the actors held their own in this great ensemble cast.  You will be thankful for a night of naughtiness and fun!