Horrible Histories Barmy Britain was an absolutely hilarious showcase of British history. You will find yourself laughing at every possible opportunity.  History is full of ‘barmy’ people and at Horrible Histories Live you get a chance to meet some of these figures.  As Horrible Histories advertise: ‘It’s the horrible history of Britain with the nasty bits left in!’

Every historical figure in the Barmy Britain show is acted out by two very talented and incredibly funny actors.  The stage has two racks with the costume for each historical figure that the actors need to portray.  Each actor possesses incredible range to be able to act each character in such a way that is obvious who they are portraying.

Two of my favourite portrayals from the show were Boudica and Queen Elizabeth I.  The portrayal of Boudica encouraged audience participation via a song about her slashing the Romans and the acting of Boudica was incredibly amusing such as when the line ‘I poisoned myself, so they say’ was said. 

The portrayal of Elizabeth I was conducted in an ingenious and amusing way. In a unique and incredibly on-brand idea from Horrible Histories, the Tudor queen becomes an undercover boss (a la the American TV Series Undercover Boss), disguising herself using nothing but ‘special glasses’ – it was absolutely amusing. The idea of the ‘special glasses’ is then used to introduce the 3D glasses for the audience for the second act. 

The portrayal of Guy Fawkes through a Who Wants to Be a Millionare? style show, but instead called ‘Who Wants to Blow Up Parliament?’ was also an ingenious and entertaining idea, teaching historical facts of the attempt to blow up parliament in a hilarious way that also engages the audience.  A perfect example of this is when Guy Fawkes asks if he can ask the audience which answer he should go for and, in so doing, reveals that there was enough gunpowder to blow up 25 parliaments! 

The King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn sketch is also incredibly entertaining when Anne states that Henry must woo her before she will marry him, and he sings a modern song.  It is especially funny when Anne insists that the King is smelly and asks the audience if she should tell him, to which she says, ‘I think not!’

The links to the television show, such as when the actors sing part of ‘The Plague Song‘ from the show and then encourage the audience to join in with the singing, is a great and subtle way to link the two together. 

Horrible Histories has always been a favourite of mine since I was a child, and the Barmy Britain Live Show definitely lives up to the honour of the show.  I enjoyed the show just as much as I have enjoyed any of the Horrible History TV show episodes. I would highly recommend going to see the show; you will not be disappointed at all.  Watching Barmy Britain is a great way to spend an hour and ten minutes of your time.  Horrible Histories was incredibly important to me when I was younger and as a result, I was thrilled when they made the live shows. The show is suited to adults who remember the show from when they were children and children who are currently learning about the topics at school. Barmy Britain Horrible Histories show is fun for the whole family! 

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