Alan Bennett’s modern classic The History Boys is coming back to the West End for the first time in two decades. The multi-award-winning play will have a strictly limited season at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, directed by Nicholas Hytner with Bob Crowley designing.
The original, multi-award-winning production of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys will return to the West End next year for the first time in 20 years for a strictly limited 16-week engagement at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, with first preview on 10 April 2027, opening night on 19 April and a final performance on 24 July.
Director Nicholas Hytner commented on the news, commenting that, “more than 20 years after it opened at the National Theatre, 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 theatre goers. My collaboration with Alan Bennett has been central to my creative life, and it’s a delight to be back in the theatre with him again.”
Hytner, who directed the original, reunites with Olivier Award-winning designer Bob Crowley, who returns to design the set. Hytner also directed the 2006 film of The History Boys, which featured much of the original National Theatre cast, including Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, James Corden, Dominic Cooper, Russell Tovey, Sacha Dhawan, Samuel Barnett, Jamie Parker and Andrew Knott.
Casting for the revival will be announced in January 2027.
WATCH: The History Boys teaser Trailer
About the play
Set in 1980s Britain, The History Boys follows eight schoolboys at an all-boys grammar school in Sheffield as they navigate sex, school politics and their teachers’ intellectual battle of wills. Poignant, subversive and deeply funny, the play explores sexuality, adolescence and the nature of history, challenging the purpose of education while reflecting the changing face of England.
It received its world premiere at the National Theatre in 2004, before transferring to the West End and Broadway, where it won three Olivier Awards and six Tony Awards and launched the careers of its young cast. It is widely considered one of the best plays of the 21st century.
Plan Your Visit
- Venue: Theatre Royal Haymarket
- Booking dates: 10 April 2027 until 24 July 2027
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