“Brilliantly bonkers and British. Exceptional edutainment for all the family.”
I knew this show was going to be great when I saw the glossy souvenir programme was filled with activities to do before the show- crosswords, puzzles, anagrams, spot the difference- endless entertainment before curtain rise. Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain is a two-hander produced by The Birmingham Stage Company in which performers Emma Swan and Neal Foster spend the next seventy minutes wrangling accents, costumes, props and poo jokes to weave a tale of grim chronological history highlights .
A simple set up, the blank stage (currently hiding the Fawlty Towers set behind black curtains) encompasses a massive wicker basket flanked by industrial sized coat racks absolutely full of colourful costumes and accessories. This enabled the costume changes to flow seamlessly between time periods. Starting of course, with the Rotten Romans, we are treated to tidbits and earworm singalongs about the etymology of place names (genuinely learned new facts here) before heading on to the Vikings and Norsemen. Straight onto the Magna Carta before a bubonic plague detour then into the Tudors. Despite the relentless character switching, it never felt rushed. This is down to the excellent pacing of Terry Deary and Neal Foster’s script. We finish with Dick Turpin, Burke and Hare and finally arrive at the 20th Century. Phew! Did I miss anything? Actually yes, they manage to squeeze in Guy Fawkes as well.
The duo of Swan and Foster are sublime- their elastic physicality and comedic timing mesh together perfectly. They are clearly very comfortable performing in exaggerated tones and expressions for a younger audience. In return, their efforts are rewarded with giggles, chuckles, guffaws and the right amount of “ewwww”s to all the toilet humour. Adults are not left out either; clever skits with callbacks to Monty Python: a “bring out your dead- I’m not dead yet” bit set in a Welsh plague village and The Fast Show: a “suits you, Sir” scene with a young girl from the audience trying to buy tudor clothing before being put in the stocks, bless her.
If I were to nitpick such a wholesome theatrical experience, it’s that a cast of two does not nearly do justice to the wealth of the historical characters and immersion available. Imagine a cast of ten, mingling with the crowd pretending to be medieval peasants flinging plushy plague rats into the audience, or two teams of five sat in Viking longboats coming to invade Lindisfarne (the front row of course). There were indeed elements of audience participation, usually in the guise of singing and clapping and a spirited watergun by Dick Turpin, but they could go so much further and audiences would lap it up. The set, whilst making allowances for it being a whistle stop West End residency, was essentially non-existent. No backdrop, no furniture, just props and costume changes. This does give it an air of Thirty-Nine Steps level of farce which Swan and Foster are incredibly adept at portraying. Again though, imagine how fun it would be to see Burke and Hare in a gloomy lamp lit kirkyard with fog effects, or a Roman Centurion getting lost in modern day Chester. There would be huge scope for age-appropriate visual gags.
Ultimately, the show feels like a brilliantly British pantomime perfectly set up for the summer school holiday period. There is so much joy, humour and genuine historical fun facts that not even the sound of a hundred crinkling Haribo packets could put me off. It’s a genuinely great day out; exceptional edutainment for all the family.
Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain runs at the Apollo Theatre until 31st August. Tickets are available here.