Characters

Hector- Hector is the central character of the play, a beloved english teacher who believes that
his students should learn literature in order to help them through life. His teaching style is
irrelevant and energetic. He believes exams are the enemy of education. The headmaster
deplores Hector's teaching style as it cannot be quantified or measured. He becomes very
bitter about his profession, is in a distant relationship with a female and is killed by the end of
the play.
Irwin- A young recent university grad who comes to teach history at a school and helps prepare
boys for oxbridge exams. Irwin’s philosophy of education is about looking at questions from an
unconventional angle in order to appear more interesting to examiners (in sharp contrast to
Hector.) He is crippled in an accident, becomes wheelchair bound, becomes a TV Historian then
goes on to be a spin doctor.
Headmaster- He is very concerned with sending the boys to Oxford and Cambridge in order to
raise the school’s profile. He dislikes Hector’s scattered teaching style, and hires Irwin to make
the boys more competitive university applicants. He also sexually harasses his secretary, Fiona
- Dakin uses this fact to blackmail the headmaster to reinstate Hector.
Mrs Lintott (Dorothy) - She is very good at giving the boys a factual grounding in history but the
headmaster hires Irwin as he thinks she doesn't have what it takes to give the boys a polish for
uni interviews. She is close to hector but is also critical of him, she also expresses feminist
views. At the end she relays a brief life story of the boys.
Posner- At one point in the play Posner describes himself this way “I’m a Jew. I’m small. I’m a
homosexual. And I live in Sheffield. I’m fucked.” Posner's journey towards discovering sexuality
features largely in the play; he loves Dakin but doesn't know how to process those feelings. At
his Oxford interview he downplays the holocaust and is praised for his detachment, but earlier
on he argues passionately that the Holocaust cant be treated like a normal historical event.
Receives scholarship but tells Irwin years later that it doesn't work out. Posner stands out as
scholarly and sensitive.
Dakin- Dakin is charming, manipulative, self-confident, and handsome. This makes him popular
at school, and at least three of the male characters in the play are sexually attracted to him
(Posner, Hector, and Irwin). Dakin has a sexual relationship with Fiona, the Headmaster’s
secretary, and he also seduces Irwin (though they never have sec). Dakin is also intelligent and
often argumentative. He is the most drawn towards Irwin's methods of teaching. He is accepted
to Oxford on a partial scholarship and goes on to become a highly paid tax lawyer.