Nicholas Hytner
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At a press conference today to present the National Theatre’s
Annual Report and Financial Statements, Artistic Director Nicholas Hytner revealed that there are plans to finally bring his production of Alan Bennett’s
The History Boys to the West End.
“Its success continues to astonish me,” Hytner said of the play, which was a total sell-out from the moment it opened at the National’s Lyttelton Theatre in May 2004. The production went on to undertake a national tour and then returned to the repertoire in September 2005. It is currently both on Broadway (where it is running at the Broadhurst Theatre to 1 October and won six Tony Awards, including the one for Best Play) and on a new U.K. national tour. The tour is visiting Birmingham, Nottingham, Coventry, Bradford, Hull, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Belfast, Llandudno, Cardiff and Salford Quays between now and on 25 November. As previously reported, the film version, also directed by Hytner, is due to receive its royal world premiere on 2 October, in the presence of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.
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A West End run is dependent on the availability of a suitable theatre, “but all being well, we hope it will play there,” said Hytner. The West End run would be produced by the National Theatre itself in partnership with National Angels Ltd., an Enterprise Investment Scheme company set up by a group of the National’s loyal supporters that is intended to give the theatre a bigger share of commercial profits when they are available. The National’s Executive Producer Nick Starr said it was “a myth” that the National was prohibited for taking such commercial risks. National Angels Ltd. previously partnered West End producer Sonia Friedman on transferring
Jumpers to the West End.
According to Hytner, the Broadway run of The History Boys is expected to yield a return of some £500,000 to the National Theatre coffers; and as a co-producer of the film, he further revealed that he had negotiated a deal for the National to receive a percentage of the film’s profits in the order of “triple what we are entitled to.” No casting or further details are available yet.