Art comes out of art; it begins with imitation, often in the form of parody, and it’s in the process of imitating the voice of others that one comes to learn the sound of one’s own.
I think the writer’s quite low down in the hierarchy really. But the fact that they took the piss out of Nicholas [Hynter] who, besides being the director, is also director of the National Theatre is, I’d have thought, slightly more risky.
So, half a dozen of us tried – not all of us in history – and we all eventually got in. So, to that extent, it [The History Boys] comes out of my own experience.
If, for instance, we’d made the film after the show had been to Broadway, it would have been exactly the same film but we would have been assured that they would have understood it.
![Alan Bennett Quote - It [Cambridge] wasn’t a holy grail in the sense that I’d never been to Cambridge.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/it-cambridge-wasnt-a-holy-grail-in-the-sense-that-.jpg)
![Alan Bennett Quote - It [Cambridge] wasn’t a holy grail in the sense that I’d never been to Cambridge.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/grey-it-cambridge-wasnt-a-holy-grail-in-the-s.jpg)
![Alan Bennett Quote - It [Cambridge] wasn’t a holy grail in the sense that I’d never been to Cambridge.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/blue-it-cambridge-wasnt-a-holy-grail-in-the-s.jpg)
![Alan Bennett Quote - It [Cambridge] wasn’t a holy grail in the sense that I’d never been to Cambridge.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/red-it-cambridge-wasnt-a-holy-grail-in-the-s.jpg)
![Alan Bennett Quote - It [Cambridge] wasn’t a holy grail in the sense that I’d never been to Cambridge.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/brown-it-cambridge-wasnt-a-holy-grail-in-the-s.jpg)
![Alan Bennett Quote - It [Cambridge] wasn’t a holy grail in the sense that I’d never been to Cambridge.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/white-it-cambridge-wasnt-a-holy-grail-in-the-s.jpg)
![Alan Bennett Quote - I think the writer’s quite low down in the hierarchy really. But the fact that they took the piss out of Nicholas [Hynter] who, besides being the director, is also director of the National Theatre is, I’d have thought, slightly more risky.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/i-think-the-writers-quite-low-down-in-the-hierarch-683x1024.jpg)
![Alan Bennett Quote - So, half a dozen of us tried – not all of us in history – and we all eventually got in. So, to that extent, it [The History Boys] comes out of my own experience.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/so-half-a-dozen-of-us-tried-not-all-of-us-in-histo-683x1024.jpg)
