On Broadway

Attended my first Broadway play today - "The History Boys", by Alan Bennett. Although, strictly speaking, it is a British play which enjoyed considerable success in London before crossing the Atlantic to Broadway, where it won Tony Awards (2006) for Best Play, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress.

The play is about a group of schoolboys preparing for their Oxbridge entrance exams. The main tension in the play is the different teaching styles and approaches to life as manifested between the boys’ English teacher (Hector) and their History teacher (Irwin), and the legacy they pass on to their students. The play challenges the audience to ask themselves, of the two, who is more “successful” as a teacher, and how would we define success in the first place. It is about the purpose and nature of education – of form vs substance, rationalisation vs understanding the truth, about improving school rankings vs education for life (sounds familiar?). It has been reviewed in many places, but I happen to like this one in the New York Times.

I found the Broadhurst theatre (where the play was being staged) a little different from London theatres. The lobby is small and we moved straight into the house proper (and bumped into the bar). The seats were pretty narrow and there was not much leg room in between the rows. Probably an older theatre. On the other hand, the playbill (programme) was free! Unfortunately my jet lag caught up with me near the end of the first act. Considering this is a pretty intellectual play with a lot of literary references, this meant that some portions just swept over me. Managed to shake off the drowsiness and was pretty alert during the second half.

What I enjoyed – great performances from Richard Griffiths (as the English master) and Frances de la Tour, scenes showing the interaction between the boys and their teachers, the songs and performances put up by the boys throughout the play, the use of film segments for additional scenes (probably the best use of it that I’ve seen, not that I’ve seen that much). Also, the interesting sets – different rooms were constructed using movable walls on the stage. All in all, a great play and a great evening out (even though we had to walk to the subway station in the rain, through crowds of other umbrella-carrying people).