Birmingham Stage Company are back at The Grand Opera House York with their latest Horrible Histories production, Barmy Britain! Unfortunately I couldn’t make this performance, but I’ve seen many of Birmingham Stage’s Roald Dahl adaptations and always enjoyed the company’s work – slick and polished children’s theatre with plenty of interaction!
In my absence, Mrs Hatter and the boys put on their review hats and went to York for a night of historical hilarity. Find out what they thought below!
History’s Mysteries
With a cast of just two performers, the audience is taken through Britain’s Barmy history with lots of gags, jokes, songs and silly skits. In this 1 hour 30 minute show, the terrible timeline stopped at Boudicca, Richard the Lionheart, Tudors, the Victorians, Dick Turpin, Guy Fawkes and many more. The latter few gave it a distinctly ‘York’ flavour, a local history lesson brought to life in the best possible way!
Another Dimension
The show is advertised as featuring BoggleVision 3D technology, often used in pantomimes and in previous Horrible Histories productions. Donning a pair of 3D glasses in the second act, this is your classic ‘things coming towards you’ special effect which the audience went wild for. The use of mixed media shows just how well Birmingham Stage innovate, I’ve always been impressed with their ideas and noticed that they even have a show on board a boat in London, Terrible Thames
Having a Blast!
There were many laugh-out-loud moments, and both Hatter boys loved the silly humour and slapstick! We’re all big fans of the popular CBBC series, and Birmingham Stage have done a great job of translating that humour to the stage, whilst also putting their own spin on it.
Favourite bits? A highlight for our eldest was a silly moment in which Henry VIII kept trying to kiss Anne Boleyn, who replied ‘Ah ah ah, social distancing!’ – a stark reminder of just how barmy Britain has been recently! He loved it when Richard the Lionheart repeatedly got the noises wrong when trying to roar too. Our youngest loved the 3D special effects, especially the bats. Both boys loved the toilet humour and fart noises, as expected!
There was one story in the second half which scared the boys (aged five and eight) a little – the tale of Burke and Hare murdering people in their beds. In an altogether light and funny show, this was presented in a much darker way and seemed to jar with the rest of the production. This aside though, the Hatters loved the show and lapped up the madcap comedy and gruesome facts.
And the rest, as they say, is history!
MAGIC RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL
Horrible Histories is showing at The Grand Opera House York until October 24th, then touring throughout the UK. For venue information and tickets visit www.barmybritain.com
Disclaimer: Tickets were kindly provided for this performance, however all opinions are honest and are our own.
Review Wizard 