The play was presented in association with Matthew Byam Shaw and Anna Mackmin, and was first performed on the Cottesloe stage of the Royal National Theatre on 9 August 2001.
In an online review, the scope of the play is addressed as follows: "Charlotte Jones knows her Stoppard, her Hamlet, her Ayckbourn, and among other things perhaps the fourth book of Virgil's Georgics on the subject of Aristaeus's bees".
Jones draws upon techniques reminiscent of Tom Stoppard by utilizing multiple layers of what seem to be random events, people, movements, and philosophies.
Once he returns home, he discovers that his mother, Flora Humble, has got rid of all of her husband's belongings, including the bees which he kept.
On top of that Felix, discovers that Flora intends to marry a man named George Pye, the complete opposite of the intellectual and passionate James.
Flora sends her friend Mercy to befriend Felix and relay information back.
Rosie tries using sex to ease Felix's tension, only to be interrupted by the arrival of Flora and George.
A confrontation occurs at a garden dinner party where Flora plans to officially announce her wedding with George.
George Pye – Confident, well-built, modern, and a fan of big band music.
Felix in many regards acts as a modern-day Hamlet; he has a brilliant but troubled mind, will not let go of the death of his father, and falls into depression and even contemplates suicide.
The most apparent aspect is a visit to the “green world,” which David Rush explains as any place where a character runs off to and experiences a change.
The action often seems to occur inside the mind of Felix and he is considered the victim in the play.
Her urge to write plays didn't arise from a lifelong ambition; rather, she was inspired to do so because up until then her career was that of a frustrated actor desperate for work.
Humble Boy premiered at the Royal National Theatre in 2001, directed by John Caird, with the leads played by Simon Russell Beale and Diana Rigg (Felicity Kendall took over from Diana Rigg when the play later transferred to the West End), and also featuring Cathryn Bradshaw, Denis Quilley, Marcia Warren and William Gaunt.