Horrible Histories, The Awful Egyptians: Belgrade Theatre, until Saturday.(By Catherine Vonledebur)MY children love Horrible Histories on TV so were very excited at the thought of seeing a live show – in 3D.
It isn’t actually the CBBC team who perform in the show, but the Birmingham Stage Company and a big cinema screen provides an ever-changing movie backdrop following the format of the Horrible Histories book series by Terry Deary.
Awful Egyptians is based around explorer Smears (Luke Broughton), his assistant Bill (Gary Wilson) and a schoolgirl Maisie (Lauryn Redding), who accidentally meet in an ancient Egyptian history museum.
After meddling with a cursed Egyptian statue of the Pharaoh Ramesses, the statue comes to life and whisks them on a tour of Egyptian history – with humorous songs and graphics of pyramids being built.
The audience pick up a pair of 3D specs in the interval and everything goes “Bogglevision” in the second act. There are plenty of ‘“urghs” from the audience the gruesome mummification process is explained.
It’s a fast-paced, funny and informative history lesson and it runs alongside The Ruthless Romans show.
It’s an educational half-term treat the children will love – you could even combine it with a trip to The Herbert’s Secret Egypt exhibition in Coventry.