Just how barmy is our Britain then?
Quite – if this whirlwind of a show is anything to be believed.
A whistle-stop tour through the ages, starting with Boudicca and the Romans and ending with the conclusion of the First World War showed us the facts.
But the facts were draped across music, comedy and sketches which never failed to hit the spot in a two-hour performance.
It’s hard to call it education theatre because although everyone will learn something from the show, it’s hardly tough
learning - and perhaps the way forward for some of the drier history teachers out there to take on board.
If you’ve ever seen the television programme, you’ll be familiar with the Terrible Tudors, Vile Victorians and Rotten
Romans – but it was all new to me.
It was the wide choice of historical tales by the Birmingham Stage Company that prompted me to reiterate to my nine-year-old that everything he was watching was true.
It all really happened. From Henry VIII’s execution of 72,000 people to the real meaning of the word ‘Viking’.
A striking and sobering thought for the adults watching was how much history can repeat itself.
From the Crusades and King Richard the Lionheart ordering the massacre of 2,700 muslims at Acre to the threat of a worldwide plague in the middle ages. The parallels with the modern world were obvious to see. When there was last a Queen Elizabeth nearing the end of her reign, we had supposedly corrupt politicians and an economy struggling to make ends meet.
There was even a parallel with the Scottish independence debates of today, with a reminder of how we sold our lands north of the border to help pay some mediaeval war debts.
There was more for the adults with a couple of real groaners of gags, including a particularly memorable Alex Salmond joke.
The gunpowder plot to blow up our politicians was acted out with Guy Fawkes talking about his plans via a Who Wants to be a Millionaire format – and we had Burke and Hare singing about their gruesome exploits to the tune of Postman Pat.
Horrible? Yes. History? Definitely!
