Horrible Herstories follows a group of “Phil’s” as they explore the mistruths that history has about women. This sketch show jumps from period to period, taking a clever look at the comedy women of the past have to offer.

Each sketch jumps into something new and different with some very unique insights into the past, with a wide variety of ideas for sketches. The show contains a range of sketches, from a WIRED-style autocomplete interview for Anne Boleyn, to musical numbers performed live. This show takes us briefly into the dark ages, and explores many historical periods, some of which have a heavier flow than others.

“I would argue that everyone who even has a remote interest in history should see the show!”

“Every history supervisor needs to see this show” could be heard coming from an audience member as the show was ending and, in fact, I would argue that everyone who even has a remote interest in history should see the show! If you’re a fan of puns and word play, or a fan of history, this is the show for you.

This show is very up beat and you can tell from the cast on stage that they love every single sketch, even the music between each sketch fits in perfectly and has been thoroughly thought through. Every cast member has so much fun energy on stage and this really shines through, a lot of thought has gone into each aspect of the show and it has really paid off!

“Each sketch finds an exciting new way to explore the history we’ve been taught growing up”

The aim of this show is to shine a light on the brilliant women (and non-binary) people of the past and celebrate their achievements, as well as to explore the comedy and humour they have to offer. Some (in fact, most) sketches may not be as historically accurate as the Horrible Histories TV show, yet each sketch finds an exciting new way to explore the history we’ve been taught growing up.

We got to meet some wonderful characters such as ‘Mrs Henge’ on the Antiques Stone Show, and executioners of the queens of England, and we also got to enjoy some brilliant lines, jokes, puns and callbacks.

Each sketch was written by the cast and is a maximum of 3 minutes long, which gives the show a nice pace. Each punchline is a hit. There may have been one or two sketches which could do with some ironing out, but at the rate of jokes this show has in it, this minor detail did not ruin the show at all. Horrible Herstories had me in stitches from the first sketch to the last.

I would highly recommend it to everyone at the Fringe: it is witty, fast paced punny humour packed into a sketch show - a perfect way to pass the evening.

Horrible Herstories plays at 22:30 on Aug 7-13, 15-20, 22-27 at Venue 209 Greenside @ Nicolson Square