Show in a nutshell:
Horrible Histories Barmy Britain is about how totally bonkers our historical figures and events have been here in good old Blighty. Told in the very unique HH way, brilliantly and totally hilariously!
Who went:
Kay Stonall 43, took her four-year-old son Archie.
Best for:
From approximately four years to adult.
Booking info:
The Garrick's a lovely medium-sized old theatre in central London on Charing Cross Road, easily reached by foot from Covent Garden or Leicester Square tube stations. Bookings are currently being taken from Saturday 27th October 2012.
Kay's review:
A rollicking ride through British history, Horrible Histories is not only education but incredibly funny too, and will keep adults as entertained as the children.
Henry VIII's in there as you'd probably expect, and thanks to Barmy Britain I can now recite what happened to each of his wives in the correct order, which is something a whole year of O'level History never managed to teach me. The show's told entirely by just two amazing and energetic actors, and is an exhilarating one hour long, making it easy to fit in to a day's sightseeing inLondon, as we did.
It's manageable and suitable for children of Archie's age and above, incredibly educational and so much fun for children and adults alike; both myself and Archie were giggling away the entire time. So fast-paced, but at the same time, very easy to follow as well. The only negative I had from Archie was when it finished: as he wanted it to go on and on, as did I.
Archie's quite tall for his age, and though we had fantastic seats very near the front, it's worth mentioning he did struggle to sit on the seat and keep up with all the action on the stage (there's no booster seats like the cinemas). So he and children his age are best stood up, which was handy for all Archie's jiggling about and dancing anyway! Yes, there's a bit of audience participation, but if that's not your thing, don't worry you can do it in your seat, nobody's singled out and you'll be itching to join in anyway.
Another practical tip - if you're sitting in the stalls, go down to the seats and use the toilets at the back of the theatre if you need them, there's no waiting. Happy days. I can't recommend Barmy Britain enough and neither can Archie!
