Horrible Histories – Terrible Tudors at Mayflower Southampton

If there is one show that sparks the interest of all three kids, it has to be Horrible Histories.

Fresh from seeing the Horrible Histories Pirates exhibition at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, tonight we went to see Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors at the Mayflower, Southampton.

Horrible Histories on stage is brought to life by the brilliant Birmingham Stage Company and we got a fantastically enjoyable history lesson from Dr Dee and his pupils Drab and Dross who take on the roles of all of the key characters.

Despite being just three of them on stage, they had the kids transfixed by their raucous recap of the lives and times of Henry Tudor, Henry VIII, his six wives, King Edward VI, Bloody Mary Elizabeth I, and Mary Queen of Scots.

There were quick costume changes, slapstick humour, re-written pop songs and a few toilet references that kept the audience chuckling throughout the performance.

I was a bit worried that Sebby was going to be scared, as the Tudors were not a pleasant bunch, but he wasn’t phased at all and loved the audience sing / dance along section about the respective fates of the six wives of Henry VIII.

The first half lasts 45 minutes before a 15 minute interval where you are given some “safety goggles” which are actually 3D glasses. The second half of the show dedicates itself to Henry’s children and saw us escaping from Tudor jail before dodging explosives, cannon balls and flying timber as the Spanish Armada sails on to the backdrop screen for its moment of reckoning in the English Channel.

Horrible Histories is at Southampton Mayflower with two shows: Terrible Tudors and Awful Egyptians until 28th April.

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