Melissa Blease reviews Horrible Histories Barmy Britain – on at Theatre Royal Bath until 12 November
It’s a popular notion these days that, to young people, history – unless you’re talking very recent history, as in which memes were trending on social media yesterday – is all a bit boring, innit?
Well that’s what the grown-ups think the kids think, anyway. But if you ask an actual young person what they think of writer Terry Deary’s best-selling series of Horrible Histories books, which began in 1993 with The Gory Glory of Rome, The Terrible Tudors and The Awful Egyptians, and has since morphed into a multi-media ‘educational entertainment franchise’, no less, encompassing dozens of books, guides, annuals and magazines, a hugely successful, BBC TV series (including an ‘adults-only’ incarnation) and this stage show, and you may find your perceptions challenged.
It’s not that the young people don’t care about (or aren’t interested in) history; it’s just that, largely, they don’t care for how history is presented to them in the ‘traditional’ format, at school – and let’s face it, most grown-ups would concur.
So it was a welcome relief to take a seat amongst an audience of mostly little people, accompanied by big people who seemed to be as excited as the kids were about the Horrible Histories’ Best of Barmy Britain stage show on the evening when very real horrible history was being made in the USA.
It was refreshingly easy, however, to put doom-laden adult reflections on hold for two hours and take a whistle-stop tour of our own country’s rich historical tapestry woven over the last 1,000 years: the highs, lows and utter ridiculousness that have made Britain “great”. Under Neal Foster’s imaginative, fast-paced direction, the Birmingham Stage Company prove that learning can be not just fun, but a rowdy, gruesome, laugh-a-minute riot.
I thought I knew all I needed to know about the bubonic plague, the Burke and Hare murders and Dick Turpin’s tale – but as it turns out I only knew about the dull bits. I never expected to witness Anne Boleyn rapping with her dastardly killer king husband, or Boudicca rocking out to We Will Smash You (to the tune of the Queen anthem), or Queen Victoria breakdancing.
I didn’t think I’d ever see Guy Fawkes appearing in a 17th-century pilot for Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, winning the jackpot for correctly answering questions such as Who Wants to Blow Up Parliament? And I’m amazed to learn that Richard I was responsible for the slaughter of 2,700 Muslims in the Holy Land city of Acre circa 1191.
Our rollercoaster ride of revelation was led by just two guides: Neal Foster (Rex) and Alison Fitzjohn (Queenie), who demonstrate impressive versatility to portray a cast of characters ranging from monarchs to peasants, all the while displaying brilliant comic timing and a remarkable range of accents. And the audience were, of course, obliged to join in; we sang, we giggled, we screamed, we made all manner of rude noises, and we donned our 3D glasses for the second half, flinching in our seats as computer-generated backdrops came to life and sent everything from bats to a bursting dam hurtling towards us.
All in all, it’s an experience that’s about as far from being horrible as you can get (unless, that is, you’re particularly squeamish about bottom-wiping jokes or teddy bears having their heads ripped off). It’s also about as far from a traditional history lesson as is possible – and all the more enlightening for it. But is Britain’s history really that barmy?
Compare and contrast with what’s going on across the pond right now, and this is probably the sanest evening of escapism you can indulge yourself in this week.
The post Theatre review: Horrible Histories Barmy Britain appeared first on The Bath Magazine.