Alan Bennett’s “The History Boys” is going back to London’s West End after a 20-year absence.
Nicholas Hytner returns to the National Theatre production he first staged in 2004, which later went to Broadway and won six Tony Awards there.
Set in 1980s Britain, the comedy follows eight pupils at a Sheffield boys’ grammar school. They deal with adolescent desire, staffroom politics and teachers locked in an intellectual tug-of-war. Along the way the play takes on sexuality, growing up, what history actually is and what schooling is for.
The run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket will begin previews on April 10, 2027 and close on July 24. Bob Crowley, who designed the original staging, returns as set designer. The cast will be revealed in January 2027.
Hytner is producing with Brian and Dayna Lee, whose credits include “Giant.” That play won the Olivier for best new play and earned four Tony nominations on Broadway with John Lithgow. The three most recently partnered on “The Standard of Living.” Len Blavatnik and Danny Cohen also produce for Access Entertainment, with Mark Rubinstein as executive producer.
The Lees said it was a privilege to return Bennett’s play to the West End with “the incomparable Nicholas Hytner once again at the helm.”
“Bennett’s sharp, funny and deeply moving exploration of institutional culture, class and education feels as timely as ever. We can’t wait to share this remarkable production with a whole new generation,” they said.
After its 2004 bow at the National, the play transferred to both the West End and Broadway. It won three Olivier Awards as well as the six Tonys, and its young ensemble went on to break out.
“More than 20 years after it opened, it’s the right time to be bringing this great and much loved play back to the London stage. I can’t wait to take another look at it, and to introduce it to a new generation of theatergoers,” Hytner said. “My collaboration with Alan Bennett has been central to my creative life, and it’s a delight to be back in the theater with him again.”
Bennett said: “’The History Boys’ is one of the happiest plays I’ve written. Or rather, it was one of the happiest of my plays to write. It was also one of the quickest to set down, taking far less than my usual five years. So, something of a record for me. The play is full of quotes and has itself become eminently quotable. A joy for any playwright. I welcome its return under Nicholas Hytner.”
The Lees run AF Creative Media, whose Broadway credits include the Tony winners “Company,” “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Angels in America.” The pair also hold a multi-year first-look deal with London’s Royal Court Theatre.