Review: The History Boys

The best LUDS play yet

| UPDATED LUDS The History Boys

LUDS plays can be amateur; it is only to be expected when you are stuck with a limited budget and only aspiring – not necessarily professional – actors. But ‘The History Boys’ absolutely blew all of that out of the water.

Not one moment of boredom struck the audience and unusually, the two hours seem to fly by.

The unchanging set was well thought out, with the classroom desks and teachers desks placed in a semi-circle so that the audience could see all that was going on, but not so much that it was unconvincing or unrealistic. The posters at the back gave it a real school feel.

The £500 received for the production from the University’s 360 Degrees Festival clearly was well-spent and exploited in all the right places.

On to the acting: shockingly brilliant. A big shout has to go to Barney Elliot who plays Hector; this is definitely his best role to date. He is funny, risky and heart-warming: the perfect blend for a character that only a limited number of actors could actually pull off.

The boys themselves were exactly the kind of people you remember from the classroom. The chemistry between the actors makes the scenes humorous and convincing, such as the French scene where Alex Pardey who plays Dakin removes his trousers, much to the gay character Posner’s delight.

This is also a result of the hours that must have been spent on the directing and stage managing to get it all just right.

This is Alex Pardey’s last play with LUDS and he should be very proud of his performance. With all of the boys being equally as well-played as each other, it is too difficult to merit individuals. As one can imagine Alan Bennett to have planned, they have to be taken as a team.

If you fancy a giggle, a heart-warming and a little bit of culture then you need to see this.

The last two performances are 12th and 13th March and tickets can be bought on the door, only £4 for students.

 

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