Horrible Histories Awful Egyptians Review

Horrible Histories Awful Egyptians follows a girl and her teacher who get locked inside a museum for the night. Here they touch one of the artefacts and suddenly awaken Ramesses the Great. We go on an adventure with them, learning all about Egypt, its rulers, how they built pyramids and mummies, the afterlife and much more.

Awful Egyptians was a fantastic show that was cleverly put together. Even though it only has three cast members, they managed to make it feel much bigger and more dynamic because of the smart use of a screen as most of the set. Normally, I prefer shows that use actual physical sets, but in this case, the screen worked so well that it didn’t feel like anything was missing. They did include a few props throughout the performance, and the costumes were well done and added a lot to the overall show. One of the most impressive things was how perfectly timed the screen effects were with the actors’ actions. For example, when one of the performers jumped up to grab an object, the object on the screen would rattle in sync, and it looked like he pulled it straight out of the screen. It was creative and added to the fun of the show.

The story was engaging and funny, and while they were learning history, you ended up learning a lot without it feeling boring. That said, there were a few moments that were a little complicated, just because so much was happening at once. But overall, the show kept a great balance between being educational and entertaining. 

The cast was fantastic and full of energy and charisma. Each actor played multiple characters, and they did it so well. All three were incredibly talented and brought a lot of life to the performance. They all had great comedic timing. Some did very funny and accurate Trump impressions, which made everyone laugh, while at other parts of the show, people played mummies and babies. 

One thing I found funny is the characters would say words that had two different meanings, which made for some clever and funny jokes. Adults and kids both laughed a lot. The cast also had good voices and did lots of singing throughout; for example, they were wrapping a mummy while rapping a song. There were lots of jokes that had two meanings. They also had more mature jokes for the older audiences but also that younger kids may find funny.

What also made this show great was that in the second half, they had a 3D element where the audience was given 3D glasses. The 3D effects were great and came right out next to you; there was so much in-your-face pop-out and good depth, far better than anything you get to see in cinemas. This aspect made the set feel larger and more immersive, with the cast interacting smoothly with the 3D elements to create a seamless experience. There was one point where I did get very scared due to a giant spider coming right out of the screen and felt like it was directly next to me. I did have to shut my eyes for that part, as it also dropped down. Others also got scared throughout that part. 

Horrible Histories did a good job of making the show have some scary parts but then not dwelling on the scary parts for too long or making the scary parts less scary. For example, when we are first introduced to the mummy, it could be quite scary for younger viewers, but they do a good job of, after a few seconds of it being slightly scary, turning it into a comedic mummy so kids don’t get super scared and switching between funny and scary. This I thought was a great idea, as it has horror and comedy blended into one. Being a horrible history, it could be quite gory at times, despite it all being fake, for example, explaining how mummies are made, etc., and prop body parts. I was surprised at how young some of the kids who went were. There was also lots of audience participation, from clapping to singing.

Overall Horrible History Awful Egyptians was a fantastic show with an incredibly talented cast that was funny, interesting and extremely cleverly made with great 3D, and I learnt lots. I highly recommend going to watch the UK tour. The same cast also do the same day, a terrible Tudors show, which is even more amazing to me how they remember both shows. I hope they tour again next year. 

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