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Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors | 3.5/5

SINGAPORE - Some say that the Horrible Histories series is meant for kids. They’re wrong, of course, to a certain extent. It may have been written to make it easier for children to appreciate history - thanks to the corny jokes and illustrations - but it’s hardly a mere children’s book series. And neither are the stage shows.

Blood, guts, gore ... and humour: All the ingredients that make Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors such a fun show. Photo: ABA Productions.

Blood, guts, gore ... and humour: All the ingredients that make Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors such a fun show. Photo: ABA Productions.

SINGAPORE - Some say that the Horrible Histories series is meant for kids. They’re wrong, of course, to a certain extent. It may have been written to make it easier for children to appreciate history - thanks to the corny jokes and illustrations - but it’s hardly a mere children’s book series. And neither are the stage shows.

Last year, we had the chance to see to see two such shows during KidsFest! - Barmy Britain and Ruthless Romans - and this year, the festival offered two more, Terrible Tudors and Awful Egyptians. Terrible Tudors tells the tale of how one of England’s most famous royal dynasties came to be. The show takes you through Henry Tudor’s ascent to the throne, King Henry VIII’s rule, Edward VI’s too short shot at the throne, Mary I and why she was nicknamed Bloody Mary, and Elizabeth I, the last of the Tudors.

Staged like a travelling show, the three actors - Simon Lloyd, Laura Crowhurst and Pip Chamberlin, as Doctor Dee, Drab and Dross, respectively - narrate the events and play a variety of roles, and not just the protagonists of the Tudor story either.

In true Horrible Histories style, they include little insights into life during the time of the Tudors - with all its delightful gore; have a little song-and-dance audience participation moment (getting the audience to sing “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived” as they recount the fates of Henry VIII’s wives); and infuse the humour found in the books (“Why was Henry VIII buried in Westminster Abbey?” “Because he was dead.”)

Bear in mind that this isn’t a lecture. The trio basically goof around with over-the-top antics, and give you just enough facts in humourous fashion, without boring you to death with detail. And yes, they take some artistic liberties and anachronisms: King Henry VIII, for example, woos Anne Boleyn with a verse from What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction.

And there is toilet humour aplenty, with vomit being a key gag to make the kiddies howl with laughter. But this one’s not just for the children. The show does have enough humour to leave the adults in stitches, too.

Again, this isn’t a history lesson. It’s history glossed over in a flippant, almost blase way. At just a little more than 70 minutes, the show is terribly succinct, such that I felt that they ought to have added more into the show, so that we could know more about what really made Elizabeth I tick, for instance. Still, I guess if the show gets you interested enough to Google “Mary I, Queen Of England”, then it has done its job.

 

KidsFest! 2014 runs until Feb 9. Visit http://www.kidsfest.com.sg/ for ticketing details.

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