The History Boys is a play written by Alan Bennett. It was first performed in 2004, at the National Theatre in London. It was also made into a successful film.
Posner’s parents complain about the way Irwin has been teaching the Holocaust (they are Jewish). The Headmaster tells Irwin off, although Irwin has been doing what the headmaster wants.
Irwin tells Posner that he can get away with being much more shocking about the Holocaust in his scholarship exam because he is Jewish. The boys are getting better marks for their essays, but Dakin is still disappointed. Posner is feeling the pain of unrequited love.
Hector, Irwin and Mrs Lintott give the boys mock interviews. Mrs Lintott talks about the possibility that one of their interviewers may be a woman, and the overlooked position of women in history. The boys are not interested. Rudge’s mock interview does not go well. Dakin asks which college Irwin went to and is told Corpus. Irwin is able to list most of the points Dakin has put in his essay without reading it, but Dakin surprises him with a couple of unusual ones, about the turning points of history where small things have a big effect.