The History Boys

Nicholas Hytner returns to his National Theatre staging of Alan Bennett's play, back in the West End for the first time in two decades, with Bob Crowley again designing. Set in a Sheffield boys' grammar school in the 1980s, it follows eight pupils preparing for university entrance as their teachers wage an intellectual battle over what education is for. Sex, adolescence and the nature of history itself all come under scrutiny in the play that won three Olivier Awards and six Tonys. Casting is to be announced in January 2027.