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

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