CityLife

Horrible Histories: Woeful Second World War

TERRY Deary has sold more than 20 million Horrible Histories books.

If anybody knows how to get the right mix of entertainment and education, he does.

He's been quoted as saying: "I've no interest in schools. They have no relevance in the 21st century."

Which goes a long way to explain the phenomenal success not just of his books - translated into 40 languages – but of his TV programmes, magazines, audio-books, exhibitions, quiz books, sticker collections, annuals, Top Trumps, cartoon series and even a Wii game.

He's built an empire to rival the Greeks or the Romans.

And now he's brought his own unique blend of fun and information to the stage with a pair of theatrical events, Frightful First World War and the show that we saw, Woeful Second World War.

It captures the essence of war-time Britain, seen through the eyes of two young evacuees.

Neighbours Alf and Sally are bundled off to the Welsh countryside after their school in Coventry is blitzed. Off they go, with their gas masks, comics and letter-writing equipment to head for a new world of farms, fresh air, and, in Sally's case, slave labour at the hands of a wicked farmer's wife.

RAF pilot

On their train journey they encounter an injured RAF pilot, whose dramatic escape from a prisoner of war camp is echoed as their own stories unfold.

Throw in some 3D glasses and special effects and you have a show which is quite unlike anything kids will get at school – but which must be worth a fortnight of history lessons. They'll have no idea they've learned so much about air raid shelters, bombers' moons, Hitler, Munich and much, much more.

It’s all threaded together with a proper storyline, plenty of comedy - Sally paints the cows white, so they can be seen at night – and dream sequences that convey some of their anxieties as they're wrenched from everything that is safe and familiar.

Distilled

And throughout it all Mr Deary has distilled the essence of an era, with the songs and the propaganda, together with the constant refrains that careless talk costs lives and above all, that we must never surrender.

My daughter Elisheva, 13, writes: "It is funny, original and engaging. Some parts of the plot were exaggerated and the story does end half way through the war.

"It is funny, and at the same time, gives the impression of what the war was like."

WWI performances: Wednesday 1.30pm, Thursday 10.30am, Friday 7pm, Saturday 2.30pm. WWII performances: Wednesday and Friday 10.30am, Thursday 1.30pm. Ticket prices for children from £6 to £12, adults £9 to £15, families £24 to £48.

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