Following the exciting announcement of HORRIBLE HISTORIES – THE CONCERT earlier this year, Birmingham Stage Company and Lion Television are thrilled to reveal the phenomenal cast bringing the BAFTA Award-winning TV show to life on stage.
For the very first time, Horrible Histories Live (and Dead!) on Stage will feature both the hit TV songs and stars of the beloved CBBC series, a unique combination never before seen on tour.
- Richard David-Caine, one of the BBC show’s longest-serving performers, also known for Class Dismissed and CBeebies’ Swashbuckle.
- Harrie Hayes, who has embodied history’s most iconic royals, from Elizabeth I to Marie Antoinette on the BBC series.
- Neal Foster, the company’s Actor/Manager and creative force behind all the Horrible Histories Live on Stage shows since 2005.
Warren Higgins spoke the cast just before the tour began. He asked Richard and Harrie how excited they are to be joining Neal and the theatre team on this tour.
Harrie: Massively, because Neal’s been doing this for twenty years. I went to see Barmy Britain in 2012 at the Fringe in Edinburgh, it was the first year of the West End show and it transferred to the Edinburgh Festival. So that’s 13 years ago that I met Neal and I’ve been trying hard to try to work with him ever since then!
Did you read the Horrible Histories books growing up?
Richard & Harrie: Yes, Yes
Neal: Sadly I didn’t as I’m too old!
Harrie: When I came to see Barmy Britain in the West End over the summer, it felt like opening the books on stage. What’s in your head as a kid reading the books is what is live in front of you and that’s the most exciting thing for me. What we do with on the TV show is a lot of fun, but we don’t get to do it in front of the audience, so it’s the reaction of the kids that I’m very excited about.
Richard: People don’t realise that filming the TV series can be quite lonely because you’re doing these huge characters and these ridiculous sketches to just a few camera people and as much as they’re lovely, they’re not employed to laugh at us. So being able to go from the small screen to the big stage, it just feels like such an honour and to be able to meet our fans and perform to them and get that instant feedback, that instant connection.
Richard & Harrie, you have both done plenty of stage work before, is it that different to what you do on TV?
Richard: Yeah, I think it’s massively different. As I said, getting instant gratification, that instant feedback there’s electricity in the space where once you create a character and you bring it to life in front of people, they respond to it immediately. You ride on that wave and then they ride on your wave and a beautiful kind of comedy cycle is born.
Neal: I don’t think the public realises, even regular theatre goers, just how important a role they play in a theatre show. The difference it makes when we get an audience that is really up for it, it changes the show completely.
Harrie: When we are filming it, you’re doing it to a room full of adults, whereas on stage we’re doing it for families so they’re part of the performance. There’s lots of scenes where we are interacting with the audience, but also just singing along, joining in with their energy. I think the live shows are going to be chaos in the best way with the with the kids there. We want them to bring that energy and will bring it right back at them.
Neal: These Horrible Histories TV songs have been around for a long time and we feature sixteen of the most popular songs in the show. They’re so loved and no one around the country’s ever had the chance to see them live on stage and to sing with the actors and join in. So, who knows what it’s going to be like in terms of just how much of a riot we’re going to create when the characters and the audience can sing these songs together.
Richard: Exactly. This show comes with a great excitement of ‘I know these songs, I know the people who sing these songs, I know the characters’ so it’s like watching your favourite rock band that’s been going for a few years.
Harrie: Yes, it’s the difference between listening to it on a CD, which is absolutely fantastic, to going to see them live performing it and screaming and singing along.
Richard: Do we have CDs?
Harrie: Alright listening to them on Spotify!
So, what characters can we expect you guys to be bring to the stage?
Harrie: Elizabeth 1st, Boudica and Stupid Death.
Richard: I’m just William Shakespeare, but I looked like death!
Neal: I get to play Charles II, Dick Turpin, and a Viking!
Richard, can you tell us a bit more about the plot of the show?
Richard: Shakespeare has been asked by his boss Queen Elizabeth I to put on the greatest show in history, but immediately everything starts to go wrong and he needs the help of Henry VIII, Queen Victoria, Cleopatra and a whole host of other famous characters to save him from being executed.
Neal: The trick about this show, is the disaster is unfolding in front of you, so the audience are in on it. No one knows how it’s going to work or whether Shakespeare is going to get away with it or just how disastrous it’s going to because it’s really happening right there.
Richard: It’s along the same lines as the Mischief shows – there are actual errors and accidents that are happening in front of the audience, which is a joy to behold because we all feel this kind of electricity because of the things are falling apart in front of us.
What’s been the best character from history each of you have played?
Harrie: I love playing Elizabeth 1st because she is just so childish and bossy, but also funny and silly, that’s my favourite. I love the costume, I love doing the voice, I love being annoying, which I think she is a lot of the time. I’m so, so excited to get to play her on stage, to tread the wooden boards.
Neal: I’m singing my two favourite songs from the TV series, because I’m singing the King of Bling as Charles II and Dick Turpin’s Highwayman. I also get to be a Viking, so I am singing Literally, literally!
Richard: Wow, I’ve been a part of this brand for maybe a decade, which means I’ve played so many hundreds of characters, I’m not exaggerating, there have been a lot. I think one that particularly stands out is James 1st, which you might get a sneaky glimpse of in the show! He’s just so wild and unpredictable, even I don’t know what’s going to come out of my mouth. I sort of get possessed by this Scottish demon when I’m playing him and it’s just an excuse to be incredibly playful as an actor.
Everything seems to be ramping up for this production, bigger cast, bigger venues, bigger tunes – how is it all working out behind the scenes?
Neal: It’s the biggest show we’ve ever done. There’s a cast of nine with a live band of five musicians and we’ve never had a live band in any of our shows before. It’s also got wonderful video effects, with the footage being filmed by Lion Television (producers of Horrible Histories on the BBC).
I think there are about 50 costumes, with wigs, hats, props – turning it into a really enormous show. We’ve great people in the room, everybody contributes, including the producers from Lion Television who sit in with the rehearsal. The script writers are on it, they’re changing things as we report back every night, so it’s a wonderfully collaborative process.
If everything goes as well as it seems to be going, will be any more future collaborations?
Richard: No, never!
Harrie: A one woman show, Elizabeth 1st on stage, on the screen!
Featuring a live band led by Richie Webb performing his much-loved TV songs, with guest appearances from Charles II, Dick Turpin and a bunch of Vikings barging through the stage door, Horrible Histories – The Concert promises a truly Horrible night out. Bring your singing voices for a show that will make history come alive like never before!
Horrible Histories – The Concert is written by Ben Ward & Claire Wetton, songs & music by Richie Webb, directed by Neal Foster, designed by Jackie Trousdale, with lighting by Jason Taylor, sound by Nick Sagar and choreography by Lucie Pankhurst. Executive Producers are Richard Bradley and Simon Welton, for Lion Television, an All3Media Company.
Horrible Histories shows are recommended for ages 5 to 105 (106-year-olds may not like them!).
HORRIBLE HISTORIES – THE CONCERT gets to the Wales Millennium Centre this Sunday. Performances are at 2pm and 5pm. For more details and tickets, go HERE.
