Horrible! But they’ll just love it

by Victoria Watson, Evening Chronicle

Young reviewer VICTORIA WATSON catches Horrible Histories – The Vile Victorians at Sunderland Empire. But did it live up to its title?

SUNDERLAND-BORN Terry Deary has penned 180 books in the UK and this excellent show is a spin-off of the Horrible Histories series.

Follow Dr Dee (Charles Davies), Dross (Haz Webb), Drab (Gary Wilson) and the intelligent Ms Tree (Jemma Hines), as they delve into the history books to bring us some of the goriest, dirtiest and scariest tales from Queen Victoria’s reign, from Florence Nightingale to the Tay Bridge Disaster.

This show starts abruptly as the lights cut out and a crack of thunder is heard.

There is the odd bit of comic violence but nothing inappropriate for the young audience. It is mainly panto-style slapstick. The audience is involved in the telling of several stories through the two acts.

Children will love this exploration of the 19th Century, telling of what happened to youngsters then, from being sold for £5, to the dangerous jobs they did. It is a production based on fact and the audience is given statistics and dates so this is educational as well as enjoyable.

The cast use a variety of methods and accents to tell each tale. For example a spoof of This Is Your Life was used to tell the story of Queen Victoria.

Through the first act the use of a giant video screen behind the cast of four helps with their minimal props. However, during the interval the audience is given a set of 3D glasses and this is where the play shows how interactive it really is.

Objects appear to fly at the audience during the second act, a unique element.

Children love the involvement required from them. It’s a win-win situation! So take your children to the Sunderland Empire.

They will love the gory 3D action and will learn something too.