ALAN BENNETT’S unlikely hit play about Oxbridge entry exams, The History Boys, passed its big test on Broadway yesterday with flying colours, earning seven Tony Award nominations.

The British import, about a group of Northern grammar schoolboys trying to get into the ancient universities with the help of two very different teachers, won nominations for best play and best director, for Nicholas Hytner.

Richard Griffiths, who features as Uncle Vernon in the Harry Potter films, was nominated for Best Leading Actor for his performance as the inspirational teacher Hector.

Two other members of the original ensemble cast were also shortlisted — Samuel Barnett, for Best Featured Actor in a play, and Frances de la Tour, for Best Featured Actress.

The production’s other nominations were for Best Scenic Design, for Bob Crowley, and Best Lighting, for Mark Henderson.

The History Boys has received rave reviews since arriving in New York after its sold-out, Olivier-winning run at the National Theatre in London. The New York Times suggested that Americans would have to revise their view of Bennett’s work as “obstructively English”. Last week it was named Play of the Year by the New York Drama Critics’ Circle. Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore, about a crazed Irish terrorist, and Conor McPherson’s Dublin ghost story Shining City were also nominated for Best Play, along with David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole, about a suburban couple coping with the death of their young son.

In the Best Actor category Griffiths will be up against Ralph Fiennes, nominated for his title role in Brian Friel’s Faith Healer, and David Wilmot, for The Lieutenant of Inishmore. Lynn Redgrave was nominated for Best Actress, for her role in The Constant Wife, alongside Kate Burton, her fellow cast member.

The Tony Awards are to be announced on June 11.

UP FOR THE TONYS

The British and Irish nominations are . . .

Alan Bennett

Best Play for The History Boys

Martin McDonagh

Best Play for The Lieutenant of Inishmore

Conor McPherson

Best Play for Shining City

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Best Score Written for the Theatre for The Woman In White

Faith Healer

Best Revival of a Play

Ralph Fiennes

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his part in Faith Healer

Richard Griffiths

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his part in The History Boys

David Wilmot

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his part in The Lieutenant of Inishmore

Lynn Redgrave

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her part in The Constant Wife

Samuel Barnett

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for his part in The History Boys

Domhnall Gleeson

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for his part in The Lieutenant of Inishmore

Ian McDiarmid

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for his part in Faith Healer

Frances de la Tour

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her part in The History Boys

Zoe Wanamaker

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her part in Awake and Sing!

Nicholas Hytner

Best Direction of a Play for The History Boys

John Doyle

Best Direction of a Musical for Sweeney Todd