Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain - The Best Bits
Apollo Theatre
4.6/5 based on 25 reviews (read reviews)- Booking until: Monday, 31 August 2026
- Running time: 1hr 10min. No interval.
Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain - The Best Bits description
Two thousand years of British history, played for laughs and with most of the gruesome bits left in.
The show is a compilation of the funniest and grisliest material from the Horrible Histories stage series, moving at speed through Boudicca's rebellion, the Gunpowder Plot, the plague, the highwayman Dick Turpin, the body snatchers Burke and Hare and a party-loving Queen Victoria. A small cast plays dozens of characters between them, with songs, quick changes and a good deal of audience participation, and the history stays accurate even when the treatment does not.
Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain - The Best Bits draws on the record-breaking books by Terry Deary, illustrated by Martin Brown, and on the BAFTA-winning television series they inspired. The stage version has been running in the West End and touring the UK for over a decade, alongside companion shows including Groovy Greeks, Terrible Tudors and Ruthless Romans.
The production comes from Birmingham Stage Company, founded more than thirty years ago by its artistic director Neal Foster, who adapted the Horrible Histories books for the stage and has built the company into one of the country's busiest producers of theatre for young audiences.
The show runs 70 minutes with no interval and is recommended for ages 5 and up, which in practice means it is written to work for the adults in the room as well as the children.
Book now for the history lesson nobody falls asleep in.
Playing at Apollo Theatre
Age restrictions
Ages 5+.