English Touring Theatre Announces THE HISTORY BOYS as the Nation's Favorite Play

English Touring Theatre announced today that Alan Bennett's internationally renowned play The History Boys has been voted the Nation's Favourite Play.

Since September thousands of theatre fans have been voting for their favourite play. The poll - the first of its kind to ask theatre fans to vote for their favourite English language play - was commissioned by English Touring Theatre to establish what the nation most wants to see.

Some of the favourites will be presented in 2014 to celebrate English Touring Theatre's 21st anniversary. Musicals, adaptations and translations were not counted.

The nation's favourite top ten plays are:

1. The History Boys by Alan Bennett

2. Noises Off by Michael Frayn

3. Hamlet by William Shakespeare

4. Arcadia by Tom Stoppard

5. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

6. Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth

7. An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley

8. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

9. Macbeth by William Shakespeare

10. King Lear by William Shakespeare

Voters were asked whereabouts in the country they were from in order to establish different trends and patterns in people's theatre taste across the country. The most voted-for plays in each region are:

East of England - The History Boys by Alan Bennett

London & The South East - Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth

The Midlands - The History Boys by Alan Bennett

North East - The History Boys by Alan Bennett

North West - The History Boys by Alan Bennett

South West - Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Scotland - An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley

Wales - Arcadia by Tom Stoppard

Northern Ireland - Hamlet by William Shakespeare

English Touring Theatre will incorporate as many of the top ten plays and regional favourites into their 2014 schedule. The company will announce which productions from the 'My Favourite Play' poll will be performed soon.

English Touring Theatre's director Rachel Tackley said, 'I want to thank the thousands of people who voted in this fantastic birthday present for English Touring Theatre. Over 1400 plays featured in the results which is astonishing and speaks volumes about the health of British theatre and the variety on offer to audiences. It's wonderful that two such glorious playwrights as Alan Bennett and Michael Frayn sit alongside Shakespeare at the top of the list.

I'm very much looking forward to announcing how, where and when English Touring Theatre will be presenting the most Popular Productions across the country."

English Touring Theatre are delighted with the support it received from theatres and arts organisations across the country including Agent 160 Theatre, Ambassador Theatre Group, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Blackpool Grand, Cambridge Arts Theatre, Clean Break, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Curious Directive, Darlington Civic Theatre, Digital Theatre, Edinburgh Festival & Kings Theatres, Equity, Evesham Arts Centre, Exeter Northcott, Hall for Cornwall, Hijinks Theatre, House, Ice & Fire, Ilkley Playhouse, ITC, Kneehigh, Live Theatre, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Malvern Theatres, McNaughton Lord Representation, Metra Theatre, Miller Centre Theatre, National Theatre, National Theatre of Scotland, New Wolsey Ipswich, Nick Hern Books, Northern Stage, Nuffield Theatre, Olivier Awards, Orange Tree Theatre, Out Of Joint, Oxford Playhouse, Paines Plough, Polka Theatre, Racked Theatre, Rose Theatre, Kingston, Rough-Hewn Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe, Sheer Drop Theatre, Soho Theatre, St James Theatre, Tamasha, The Other Way Works, The Point, Eastleigh, The Stephen Joseph Theatre, Theatre Centre, Theatre Royal Bath, Theatre Royal Stratford East, TMA, Tonic Theatre, Traverse Theatre, Watford Palace Theatre, Wild Works, York Theatre Royal, and Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.

English Touring Theatre is one of the UKs most successful and exciting production companies, widely regarded as England's National Theatre of Touring. Led by Director Rachel Tackley, The company works with leading artists to stage an eclectic mix of new and classic work for audiences throughout the UK and overseas; theatre that is thrilling, popular and, above all, entertaining. For more information, visit www.ett.org.uk.

To post a comment, you must register and login.