Humble Boy

by Charlotte Jones

Humble Boy is a comedy about broken vows, failed hopes and the joys of bee-keeping.

All is not well in the Humble hive. Thirty-five-year-old Felix Humble is a Cambridge astro-physicist in search of a unified field theory. Following the sudden death of his father, Felix returns to his middle England home and his difficult and demanding mother, where he soon realises that his search for unity must include his own chaotic home life.

Humble Boy premiered at the Royal National Theatre, London, in August 2001, and transferred to the Gielgud Theatre, London, in 2002. The play was the winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Award 2001, the Critics' Circle Best New Play Award 2002, and the People's Choice Best New Play Award 2002.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Fiction, Contemporary

101 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Charlotte Jones is a British actress and playwright.
Her first play Airswimming debuted in 1997 at the Battersea Arts Centre in London. Her other plays include In Flame, The Dark, The Lightning Play, and Humble Boy. Charlotte Jones wrote the book to the 2004-2006 West End musical, The Woman in White, in collaboration with the David Zippel and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BBC Radio 4 - Saturday Drama:
4 Extra Debut. Following the funeral, Felix tries to come to terms with his father's death and mother's personal revelations. Comic drama stars Adrian Scarborough and Diana Rigg.<?i>

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here are the main works of literature I see as having influenced Humble Boy, from most to least obvious:

Hamlet : I saw Humble Boy performed at a Shakespeare festival two decades ago, and they probably selected it because it’s a gentle, comedy-drama riff on Hamlet. Felix, a 35-year-old Cambridge academic, returns to his childhood home after his father’s sudden death, only to discover that his mother has been having a longtime affair with a family friend, and that he was kind of a jerk to his ex-girlfriend. Felix must learn to confront his problems and come to terms with these changes, though unlike Hamlet he doesn’t go down a path of revenge.

Arcadia : This is a British “science play” that probably wouldn’t exist without Tom Stoppard’s success. Felix has a monologue about astrophysics that reminded me very much of Valentine’s chaos theory monologue in Arcadia, and there’s also a lot of conversations about gardening. (Also, the role of the mother, Flora, was played in the original UK and US productions by actresses who were already famous for starring in Stoppard plays: Diana Rigg, Felicity Kendal, and Blair Brown.)

Bridget Jones's Diary : The characters are middle-class, from middle-England—less posh than those of Arcadia (or Hamlet). Felix is an aimless, unmarried 30-something, and his parents reminded me of Bridget’s too: a status-conscious mum who loves throwing parties + a quiet, patient dad.

And the mixture mostly works, though there are some elements that I think haven’t aged well. In particular, the female characters feel more stereotypical and one-dimensional than the male ones: Flora the narcissistic mother, Mercy the dithery spinster, Rosie the manic pixie dream girl (in her first scene, she throws herself at Felix for no discernible reason). There’s also some talk about how beehives are female-ruled societies and Flora is the queen bee of her household, so Charlotte Jones seems to be trying to say something about women and gender, but I’m not sure how well it registered at the turn of the millennium and I’m even less sure how well it works now.

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saturday Drama

BBC BLURB: Extra Debut. Following the funeral, Felix tries to come to terms with his father's death and mother's personal revelations. Comic drama stars Adrian Scarborough and Diana Rigg

[Christopher M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting play, I appreciated it more than enjoyed it. The central plot about a feckless adult son returning home for his father's unexpected funeral mirrors Hamlet, but in a modern middle class setting that renders it more mundane. There's some symbolic stuff about bees and apples and stars that doesn't quite land. And a running gag about the increasingly blackly comic things that happen to Dad's ashes is more awkward than funny.

[Dora | ThePedestalBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Randomly picked this play off the shelf at my house. It's an interesting take on the ideas presented in Hamlet - enough that knowing what it's based on makes reading it a more enjoyable experience, but not enough for the original story to take over. Jones creates believable characters with realistic but not overbearing dialogue, and the fast pace and minimalistic approach to the story makes for a wonderful read.

My favourite element was when in a dialogue, each of the characters would be talking about a thing relevant to them, not listening to the other. It's a great way to show how absorbed they are by themselves and offers for a lot more thinking, if the reader is willing.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot of depth here for actors and directors to explore. I can see how some people found it dull to read based on the simple setting and lack of action, but I mean, "humble" is in the title. I was personally enthralled by how well-paced the reveals were and the believability of the characters and their dialogue. I didn't even realize it was based on Hamlet until seeing the other reviews after reading it and that's a whole other layer that is very well-executed.

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliantly conceived drama, influenced by Hamlet and Ayckbourn, but a superb piece in its own right.

[Bobby Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very funny bits in here, and some genuinely detestable characters.

[Brittany Connors · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heavy on the atmosphere, total treat for actors, lush, beauuuuutifully written, question where a director helps find/add to the depth. Would be a wonderful play to work on.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard this play was reminiscent of Arcadia (my favorite play) and involved beekeeping (my hobby) so I had to read it! Enjoyable. I especially liked the ending.

[Patrick Neylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read good plays and I've read bad plays, but I've seldom read one as dull as this, at least in the opening scenes. It's possibly the dullest opening to a play I have ever read. A few obscenities don't do the trick of making it interesting. There's a lot of stuff about bees. And lots of old-fashioned talk about the Romanian orphans, which might have seemed relevant in 1992. If I were directing, I'd try to cut almost the whole of Scene 1 and most of Scene 2. Swearing doesn't make it vibrant.

Ooh, you've mentioned string theory. That makes you terribly up to date (for the 1990s). Are we going to get into Chaos and perhaps the Mandelbrot Set? Maybe not. There's still stuff to say about bees. We even mention "Women's Lib". Has that phrase even been used since 1975?

Felix chatters on about the Grand Unified Theory, but he's not as engaging as Richard Feynman. And theoretical physics isn't generally considered material for great drama (because it isn't). True, my degree is in Medieval History, but I do like a bit of theoretical physics but this didn't inspire me. And of course we do get into Chaos Theory, which doesn't have a lot of dramatic impact either.

The second half improves, but it ends with a cavalcade of floral Latin; god knows what that was all about. Quite how a denouement is supposed to work with a character listing a load of Latin names for flowers I don't know.

It didn't work for me.

[Leta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that summaries of this play often oversell the "modern take on Hamlet" which is not its strongest element. Instead, the heart of the play is the way what we expect and want from others obstructs how we understand them.

Reading it reminded me of a line from another play, Robert Anderson's "I Never Sang for My Father": "Death ends a life, but it does not end a relationship."

At its best, Humble Boy reminds us that not only does death not end a relationship, those relationships aren't their own walled gardens. One's relationship with one's parent affects every other relationship as we take the lessons we learn from one person and apply them -- for good or not -- to the other people in our lives. And what we do to protect ourselves become the ways in which we are most likely to hurt other people.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well written, charming little play.

However, it delivers no new insight in to the human condition and offers nothing by way excitement or even recognition for most audiences.

The characters are a bit bland, and while good playwrights only give us the bones of a character, letting the actors and directors provide the flesh, I would find it difficult to believe that there's still anything there worth really watching.

There are some cute moments, but for the most part, I just didn't care about anyone in the story.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a "science play." That's why I bought it and read it. THe science. But i also expect it to be a good play. Its a well made play, a funny play. But it was doing nothing new or that much better than any movie or play I've seen in its genre. And the science seemed as though it were added in the very last draft - it didn't belong to the story.

[Kelley Hazen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an exceptionally well written play. I didn't give it 5 stars only because I do believe some author editing might strengthen the end of the second act. The characters are fabulous. The subject matter is universal. Great monologues for all ages abound. A very moving piece. It was a pleasure to perform as well. And very, very funny.

[Clay Mabbitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting layers. Looking forward to doing this on stage.