HORRIBLE HISTORIES - BARMY BRITAIN AT THE ARTS THEATRE CAMBRIDGE
Neal Forster - Begetter of the Horrible History on stage
‘We all want to meet people from history... the trouble is everyone is dead’
It’s the kind of snappy fun poke at the sometimes solemn world of the past children love
Twenty eight years of theatrecraft have gone into the fabulous success of the Horrible Histories Theatre presentations ; the themes are now world famous and Barmy Britain, the best known, runs at the Cambridge Arts Theatre this week. One thing we do know, children will love it –thanks to the ingenuity and initiative of Birmingham Stage Company Manager Neal Foster, who abandoned University at Warwick to set up his own theatre company and in the famous phrase ‘ has never looked back’. In a recent interview with Diana Parkes, he explained the secret behind the phenomenal success of these riotously irreverent pieces
“I love children and I love children’s writing. A lot of children’s writing has really interesting, imaginative characters. The writing and the characters are very challenging and so too are the audiences. Whereas adults go to sleep if they are bored, children quickly let you know if they lose interest. Keeping that interest and keeping them engaged is difficult but very rewarding because they are so giving as an audience.
They often respond in a way that you don’t anticipate and you never cease to underestimate their sophistication and what they will find interesting. You can never guess what direction they will want to go in when you tell the story. That is why children’s theatre is so exciting.”
Horrible histories emerged when Neal looked up Terry Deary’s original books and got in touch with him, “Just one phone call. The rest is Horrible History.”
The franchise has spread across theatres world wide, yet Neal keeps a firm hand on content and interpretation
“ We sometimes find ourselves producing five different shows at once, and that is as much as I’d ever want to do at one time.”
Needless to say, as the fame of Birmingham Stage Company success has spread globally, Neal now works alongside David Walliams in Gansta Grann,, Awful Auntie and Biliionaire Boy and has expanded the offering. But Horrible Histories - Barmy Britain has really scooped the pool with its amazing claim as the longest running children’s show in the West End .”We have been extremely lucky’ says actor ( he is half the cast ) impresario and author Neal, but most of us would agree when we hear the squeals of delight from his audience and count the number of children in the theatre ( often for the first time) that it is really more than luck. It’s sheer genius.
