The History Boys, now on stage at the Arden Theatre, is an engaging comedy about British high school boys ambitiously applying to prestigious institutions of higher learning and their teachers’ roles along the way.

Hector, the boys' main professor, opens the play teaching in his classroom and is presented as the respected voice of wisdom for his pupils: "You believe in God, believe in me." He holds a great deal of influence on his students and from the start his unique, interactive way of teaching—incorporating song, dance, role-playing, acting, memorization and "silly time”—is clear.

Hector doesn’t think any of the boys are Oxford material, but when they insist on applying, the Headmaster is forced to introduce a new, more serious role model: Irwin, a young teacher who aims to get them into the most prestigious schools.

The two teachers have contrasting, clashing styles and while Hector remains unorganized, unfocused, romanticized and full of poetic quotations, Irwin is incredibly intellectual, strict, and probingly thought-provoking. While Hector insists on learning from living, Irwin feels most productive and inspired in the classroom.

The actors did a phenomenal job and the younger of them definitely rose to the level of their older predecessors with great success. They were quick on their toes, responsive to one another, solid on their lines and secure in their form.

There was however, some overacting for comic effect that was a bit much and occasionally their British accents sounded like overdone Scottish brogues.

Posner, the comic relief and social outcast, did a stellar job. He reminded me of Superbad's McLovin mixed with Mincus from “Boy Meets World.”

The 80s-esque music between scenes was very upbeat and really kept the pace moving along in what otherwise would have seemed liked many set changes. They kept shuffling around desks and chairs, and while it kept things lively, it didn't seem all that necessary and did slow the flow down a bit. There was also a background screen that showed images of old black-and-white 1950s movies, often with Bette Davis and WWI military-themed images.

Some of the British humor, particularly the use of obscure words like “cut, stuck and pillik,” was lost on me and there was an entire scene done in French that I literally could not understand. If you're up on your Brit-wit and French though, you'll be just fine.

Some of the punch lines were also lost due to a lack of verbal clarity and final words were mumbled away at an inaudible level. This was rare, however, and all the actors did possess superb diction and volume.

The show was very intellectual and often felt like a long, but interesting, history lesson. If you're up on your history, especially British WWI and WWII, you will feel right at home.

The scenes were limited to the school and classroom, as if the students' and teachers' worlds did not exist outside of academia, scholarly, historical life being no different than the real life."Detachment is the foundation of history," was a notion explored when analyzing all emotional subjects—from the Holocaust and WWI to the characters' personal lives.

The first act seemed also to drag a bit, but act second set was well timed, and really brought the whole story together nicely. The point of the play seemed to lie in the history books, the lessons, the discussions and in the question "How does history happen?"

Some people do things, while others react; these characters, and all of us, must struggle with how to fit into this equation and make the most out of every day.

The History Boys will be at the Arden Theatre through Nov 1.