04 May 2017
Thirty years ago while training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School I took part in a poetry reading for an old people’s club near Bath. I drove home that night feeling exhilerated in a way I had not experienced before. The direct connection we had achieved with our audience through the power of the poetry was so palpable that audience and actors alike knew we had experienced something special.
Thirty years later I’ve just driven home from Telford with the same feeling. Barmy Britain has performed all over the world, from the Sydney Opera House to the Hong Kong Academy to the Garrick Theatre in the West End. This year I wanted to take it to smaller venues that don’t normally receive Horrible Histories. The connection we made tonight with our audience of 600 people was electric. From the moment we stepped onto the stage we all knew it felt special and together we had the most fabulous time. When that charged connection happens between the actors and the audience, there really is nothing better.
It’s seven years since we staged our first Barmy Britain and it’s amazing it can still generate such a thrill for us to perform in. After hundreds of performances, we are still finding new things in the show. They call it showbiz but tonight was showbuzz!