Writer: John-Paul Cherrington
Director: Neal Foster
The apparently never-ending sequence of Birmingham Stage productions of Horrible Histories arrived at Bradford with two shows, this one, Awful Egyptians, surprisingly by a hand other than Terry Deary. John-Paul Cherrington’s touch seems a mite less secure, but everything finally comes good thanks to a second half blazing with 3D images (a big plaudit to Jacqueline Trousdale) and the series’ remarkable gift for basing the whole silly business on good solid historical research.
We start in a museum of Egyptian artefacts. A school party is just leaving at closing time, but Milly (Megan Parry) gets lost and she and the teacher Mr Bland (Jack Ballard) are locked in the museum. They, as you do, bring the exhibit of Ramesses II (Rob Cummings) to life and we are set for a quick whizz through Egyptian history, with the three of them frequently changing character in front of a video screen of vivid Egyptian images.
Finding the right tone for 5-year-olds-plus is not easy, but Cherrington misses it early on with the first king (Cummings) coming in like Donald Trump (“Make Egypt Great Again!”) and Ballard and Parry clearly imitating some television show unknown to your reviewer. The poo and bogey jokes go down a good deal better.
Things improve greatly with the sad story of Isis and Osiris, Parry’s song as Isis lamenting the murder of her brother/husband a perfect example of comedy mixed in with history (the fourteen parts of Osiris hurled onstage periodically during the song).
By the end Ramesses has explained the process of mummification and the workings of hieroglyphics, the three of them have acted out the story of Tutenkamun, Akhenaten and Nefertiti (a broad Scots interlude which certainly amused the adults and the older children) and introduced Howard Carter and the Earl of Carnarvon, while Ballard has followed the Egyptian path after death. What is impressive is the way in which the legends and half-truths of history are acted out and then soberly corrected: we do not know, we are told, that Ai killed off Akhenaten and Tutenkhamun and the “curse of the mummy” is speedily despatched.
Overall the show is a good History lesson as well as a fun couple of hours. Cummings, Ballard and Parry (none of them ever knowingly underplayed) constantly change costumes and accents and play up the ludicrous side of their characters. Increasingly they involve the audience, even doing a bit of panto-style competition between the sides of the theatre. Matthew Scott provides singable songs and Nick Sagar (sound) and Jason Taylor (lighting) punctuate the action explosively.
But the feature that most will especially remember (aside from the history) is the result of putting on those strange little glasses in the interval. 3D images abound, from a lavishly equipped Pharaoh’s tomb to everything from stones to spiders whizzing out over the audience. Above all, the dramatic climax, the destruction of the statue of Ozymandias (aka Ramesses II), again merges the spectacular and the educational: who would have thought that five-year-olds would listen in silence to Shelley’s sonnet?
The Egyptians may not have quite the appeal of the Tudors, but Neal Foster & Co have the whole operation perfectly nailed down – and one wonders how many schoolchildren in the future will surprise their teachers with their awareness of the origins of mummification in the tale of Isis and Osiris.
On tour, together with Terrible Tudors
The Reviews Hub Star Rating
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8
