David and I went to see the excellent play by Alan Bennett tonight.
The action of the play takes place in Cutlers’ Grammar School, Sheffield, a fictional boys’ grammar school in the north of England. Set in the 1980s, the piece follows a group of History pupils preparing for the Oxbridge entrance examinations under the guidance of two teachers (Irwin and Hector) with contrasting styles.
Irwin teaches the essay style of brisk generalities flavoured with sufficient facts and quotations to engage the examiner’s interest. He teaches the boys to find a (sometimes controversial) angle on a point in History and find evidence to support it, enabling the student to prove a less than truthful perspective of History. He believes the truth is irrelevant when it comes to finding a stance that will make his pupils stand out in the examination board. This method was one of ‘false pretences’, that Bennett felt he had had to teach himself in order to succeed in examinations, one academic pursuit with which he constantly had trouble. Hector, however, wishes to teach knowledge, especially English Literature, for its own intrinsic value, hoping his students will benefit greatly from his influence. He wants the boys to become cultured, rounded human beings and believes that such contrived methods are practically indecent. Exams are the enemy of all that he stands for.
The play blends both comedy and tragedy, with multiple layers and themes, including growing up, the wider purpose of education in adult life, teaching methods, homosexuality, and the English education system.
Indeed the role of the pupil Posner with his hopeless attraction to classmate Dakin, fondness of Hector’s teaching methods and late development into adulthood represents deep autobiographical details of Bennett’s life. The play also takes much influence from director Nicholas Hytner’s time at Manchester Grammar School and indeed that institution is referenced in the play.
Digg it: source : at A gay mens blog
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