Terry Deary’s phenomenally successful ‘Horrible Histories’ series – in a nutshell, history with a strong emphasis on the less savory bits – lends itself particularly well to stage adaptation, and the West End shows are perennially popular.
In 2021 the franchise expanded to include a show offering on the River Thames on a uniquely exhilarating boat tour: Horrible Histories TERRIBLE THAMES, an uproarious 45-minute immersive theatre clipper tour that forgoes mundane observations on London’s great waterway and instead delves into the darker stuff.
The hilariously historical tourist attraction is back in 2024 for its fourth summer. The audience boards the boat at Tower Bridge Quay, located right beside the Tower of London. The dramatic pretext is simple, but effective: Billie, a schoolchild (played on the cruise I attended by Harry Sutherland), has earned a special trip on the Thames with his teacher (Rob Cummings), and the two of them spend the trip engaged in a duelling dialogue of facts, pitting the teacher’s conventional wisdom against Billie’s knowledge of the murkier stories of the Thames.
The show is fast, furious, and fun. Written by Deary and the show’s director, Neal Foster, the facts are presented snappily and entertainingly, giving a sense of the vast weight of history of London in a way that’s intriguing rather than crushing.
The target audience, of course, is kids. My sample audience, comprising my seven- and five-year-old daughters, were engrossed throughout – absolutely captivated by the actors and suitably awestruck by some of the more gruesome revelations.
Birmingham Stage Company and Woods Silver Fleet’s production is a triumph: it was jam-packed with facts, involved just the right level of audience participation (my daughters particularly enjoyed singing a sea shanty in unison as we docked), and above all, is a lot of fun.
Sailing times vary, but usually between 10.45am and 4.45pm daily, until 1 September 2024.
For tickets, please visit: terriblethames.com
Elisabeth Rushton
Elisabeth has over 15 years of experience as a luxury lifestyle and travel writer, and has visited over 70 countries. She has a particular interest in Japan and the Middle East, having travelled extensively around Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, and the UAE. A keen skier, she has visited over fifty ski resorts around the world, from La Grave to Niseko. She writes about a broad spectrum of subjects...(Read More)