Birmingham Stage Company produced Terrible Tudors, which has recently celebrated their 25th Anniversary by doing a national tour of the show. Incredibly, Birmingham Stage Compsny have staged over eighty productions in the UK and throughout the world. The company are considered to be the masters of children’s theatre, which is no surprise with their longevity and success.
Benedict Martin directed Terrible Tudors, whose has done a brilliant job bringing the show to life on the stage. His direction was flawless and flowed effortlessly throughout the show. I particularly liked how he projected so much humour and laughter in his direction.
Terrible Tudors was written by Terry Deary, who has also written other books in the series of Horrible Histories. His writing of the show was very good, found the show quirky and had so much comedy in it too. There were so many so one-liners featured and the narractive was told in an informative and educational way. All the dialogue was lively and kept children amused and entertained, including the adults. There were jokes for the children and adults in equal measure. Found the show to be pantoesque with his traditional sayings usually reserved for pantomimes. As Christmas is fast approaching, this felt apt for the show.
Terrible Tudors was a stand alone show in the series of Horrible Histories, which delved into many periods of history and creating shows, which would be entertaining to children. Terrible Tudors currently runs alongside Awful Egyptians, another children’s show in the series of Horrible Histories at different times and dates as Terrible Tudors, which are both shown at Storyhouse in Chester.
The cast of the show consisted of three characters, Dr. Dre (Simon Nock), Drab (Izaak Cainer) and Dross (Lisa Allen). Having so few actors, allowed the audience to see the stories being fully developed and characters explored too. The trio of actors all played multiple roles and did a fantastic job playing their given jobs. Their chemistry and dynamics bounced off each other and provided a great sense of support and rapport too. The versatility of the actors was clearly shown and demonstrated throughout the various characters they all played.
The running theme of Terrible Tudors, was the history of one of the most famous and evil monarchy dynasties in England and Wales. The narractive of the Tudors was told in an informal way, but educational and informative at the same time. The language used was easy for the children to understand. The show had a great way of engaging children to learn history.
The story of Terrible Histories opened with a massive cart being brought on to the stage and the actors welcoming the audience to see the show. The first character featured was Richard III and how he fought to get the throne off his nephews and his subsequent discovery of his skeleton in a car park in Leicester. This particular segment was updated and modernised to included how his body was found centuries later.
Terrible Tudors was set during the Tudor Period, 1485-1603, in England and Wales, which also included the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The show then proceeded to concentrate on the most famous and evil monarchy dynasty, The House of Tudor, which consisted of Henry VII (1485-1509), Henry VIII (1509–1547), Edward VI (1547-1553), Mary I (1553-1558) and finally, Elizabeth (1558-1603). Emphasis was placed on meshing the black comedy with demands of historical accuracy, which polarised the history with a younger audience.
Henry VIII was the probably most famous figure of The Tudor dynasty, known for having many wives and his strong desire to have a male heir for the throne. His wooing of Anne Boleyn was entertaining to see and then turned to horror with her subsequent demise. Anne’s deformity of having six fingers was clearly noticeable and provided accuracy. Henry VIII caused a massive change in religion in the churches by creating the Church of England for Protestants, which didn’t necessarily get on with the Catholic Church. This separation inevitably caused a massive divide and tensions in the churches and wider community.
Other monarchs were portrayed on stage, including Henry VII, Edward VI, Mary I (known as Bloody Mary) and Elizabeth I, but without revealing too much of their stories. They were explained and told in such an entertaining way to the audience, especially the children. The cast really engaged with the audience, particularly the younger ones by interacting with them so much through music, actions and asking questions.
There were two interesting segments in the show, 'Cruelty To Criminals' and 'Doctor & Cures'. 'Cruelty To Criminals' featured a few different characters, who were on trial for a specific offence and the audience was asked if we found them guilty or not guilty. The 'Doctor & Cures' consisted of a few patients, who were looking for a cure for their silence or illness. They were looking for a diagnosis of their condition. There was nice touch with a topical reference of the Doctor could be a woman. This was a clear nod to Doctor Who and kept the show up to date too,
The set design of Terrible Tudors featured a massive cart in the middle of the stage was simple, but extremely effective. The cart had all the props and costumes required for all their characters and scenes in the show. This was a great concept as there were no interruptions and the scenes flowed effortlessly. The props were of a good standard and fitted with the era of the show. The costumes were brilliant and attention to detail was clearly noticeable and again fitted into the time period.
There was a massive screen on the back of the stage, which displayed the various settings for each scene. Additionally, the screen was utilised for the 3D scenes, which were done incredibly well. I noticed the children in the audience were really looking forward to seeing these special effects, which didn’t disappoint. Firework effects in 3D were very apt, bearing in mind, I was watching the show on Bonfire Night too. There were various things done in 3D like the collapse of a wall, blood and gore splattered everywhere. Well done to Jacqueline Trousdale, who did an excellent job combining her skills by creating the set, the screen and designs for the costumes.
The Lighting Design, (Jason Taylor), was really good and a great use of lighting was applied to the various scenes in the show. Adrian Gummer was the Sound Operator for the show, whose skills were demonstrated and clearly heard through the song choices and the dialogue spoken. The Choregrapher, Kenn Oldfield utilised the stage to its full potential for the dance routines of the songs in the show. The choreography flowed effortlessly throughout the staging of the show.
Matthew Scott was the musical composer for Terrible Tudors, with some original songs featured such as 'I Am Fat Man', which made fun of Henry VIII in a humourous way and included a topical reference to Donald Trump. The song, 'Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived' was also very good. There were other songs performed, but these two reasonated with me as they were catchy and had a rhythm that everyone could sing along too. The sound effects of the slapstick was minimal, but not overused at all. There were some great sound effects in the show of some actions that the audience could identify with.
On a final note, I really enjoyed Terrible Tudors, which is a "modern pantomime" suitable for any season of the year. The show had everything you would expect in a family show, catchy songs, funny gags, slapstick comedy, elegant costumes, loads of audience participation, fantastic visuals and versatile acting by a good trio of actors. Found the show highly entertaining and innovative for families to go and see. The writing was quirky and informative. I particularly liked the fact that the show had jokes for the children and a few reserved for the adults too. If you’re looking to take children to see a family show, then look no further than The Horrible Histories!
Reviewer - Mark Cooper
on - 5/11/19
No comments:
Post a Comment