Tag Archives: Birmingham Stage Company

Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain Part Four

★★★

Apollo Theatre

Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain Part Four

Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain Part Four

Apollo Theatre

Reviewed – 6th August 2019

★★★

 

“the kids fell about laughing throughout — and even the adults had a good time”

 

Summer time, and the livin’ is easy. Unless, of course, you happen to be the parent of children with school holidays. What to do with the little angels? You could do worse than gather them up and take them to Horrible Histories, Part Four, now playing at the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End. Your kids will thank you for it, although their teachers may be less enthusiastic when their pupils recount the details from writer and director Neal Foster’s quirky take on British history.

The Birmingham Stage Company, which produced this and earlier Horrible History shows, has come up with an ingenious solution to the problem of Christmas pantomime: Summer pantomime. Summer panto, it turns out, is a show that has all the elements of panto, but is cut down to touring size. It is performed by only two actors and a suggestion of a set, including lots of costumes, sing-along songs, and kid friendly sound effects. In this particular production, the show is neatly placed on the stage of the musical currently playing in the evenings at the beautiful Apollo Theatre. This is a good situation for the cast of Horrible Histories. It is also a more comfortable solution for audiences, since many summer children’s shows have tended to play outdoors, where good acoustics (and seating) are in short supply.

Horrible Histories, Part Four is a fast-paced romp through Britain’s past, starting with the unfortunate Roman Saint Alban, our first British martyr, and ending with an introduction to the night soil men. These historical snippets are sandwiched between timely references to the present state of the British body politic aimed to draw in the parents, while their kids laugh at all the fart and poo jokes. Because that is the theme that ties together the aforesaid saint, and the early sanitation workers of Victorian England. Don’t be put off by this — the kids fell about laughing throughout — and even the adults had a good time returning to a primary school mindset.

The play — if you can call it that, because it is really a bunch of anecdotes loosely strung together from “facts” of British history — is performed by Benedict Martin and Pip Chamberlin. Their athletic talents are on full display as they manage a dizzying range of male and female characters, complete with myriad costume changes and messing about with an adaptable chest that turns into everything from a Viking longship to a steam locomotive railway carriage. They are ably assisted in their endeavours by sound designer Nick Sagar, and the musical talents of Matthew Scott, who knows how to write songs for audience participation. A special shout out also to set and costume designer Jacqueline Trousdale for the perfect design solution for this kind of show, and for making everything so versatile.

Horrible Histories, Part Four has all the elements of the traditional British pantomime — audience participation, lots of singing and dancing — even the obligatory cross dressing parts. However, the lack of a coherent plot, such as that in traditional Christmas pantos like Dick Whittington will make Horrible Histories a less satisfying show overall. Nevertheless, the Horrible Histories franchise is a good way to introduce primary school children to theatre, and hopefully, they’ll want to continue this thoroughly British tradition into adulthood.

 

Reviewed by Dominica Plummer

Photography by Mark Douet

 


Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain Part Four

Apollo Theatre until 31st August

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Operation Ouch! | ★★★★★ | December 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

 

Tom Gates

Tom Gates
★★★★

Richmond Theatre & UK Tour

Tom Gates

Tom Gates

Richmond Theatre & UK Tour

Reviewed – 20th March 2019

★★★★

 

“a joyous piece of children’s theatre – and is sure to bring a smile to old and new fans alike”

 

For any family with junior school age children, Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates books have become a familiar and popular addition to our bookshelves. Liz has now written and illustrated fifteen books in the series, and when I mentioned to my ten year old son that Tom Gates was to be ‘Live on Stage’, he was very excited to see how that would work. Director, Neal Foster and Author, Liz Pichon agreed that rather than base the show on one of her many books, they would create a brand new story, and so in a first for the Birmingham Stage Company, they worked together to do just that.

The story starts in the classroom: Tom has got three sad faces on the class achievement chart. If he gets four, he will not be allowed to go on the class outing to the local biscuit factory. At home, his grandparents (the Fossils) have decided to renew their wedding vows, and preparations are in full swing.

Jackie Trousdale’s set is mainly comprised of six drop down screens that have Liz’s very stylised doodles projected onto them. These go up and down as the scenes change with amazing effect. Doors and windows appear and disappear in the blink of an eye, and the rain cloud that follows sister, Delia around constantly is very amusing. My favourite scenes involved Dad (Daniel Harkin), driving Tom and his friends around town in his borrowed hot dog van, all down to a clever projected illustration and some impeccably choreographed acting.

The cast work extremely well together, many playing multiple roles to deliver a fun and cohesive script. Matthew Chase proficiently leads the cast as the titular Tom, his signature hairstyle is lifted straight from Liz’s illustrations and is a nice touch. Justin Davies and Ashley Cousins as school friends, Norman and Marcus, really capture their characters – we all knew similar people at school! Amy Hargreaves shines through as sugary classmate Amy and the emotionally charged big sister, Delia.

Some of the funniest scenes involved Ashley Cousins as Granny and Matthew Gordon as Grandad. Grandad teaching Tom to play the spoons and a wedding arch made of Zimmer frames were among the highlights. Look out for the special wedding carriage, it’s very funny and brilliantly designed.

The whole piece is woven with original music by Liz’s husband, Mark Flannery, with lyrics written by Liz herself. The songs are catchy and witty, and bring more fun to the proceedings. Tom Gates – Live on Stage is a joyous piece of children’s theatre – and is sure to bring a smile to old and new fans alike.

Reviewed by Emma Gradwell

Photography by Mark Douet

 


Tom Gates

Richmond Theatre until 24th March then UK Tour continues

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Iolanthe | ★★★★ | May 2018
84 Charing Cross Road | ★★★★ | June 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com