The Grand Theatre is so excited about the return of the hugely popular Horrible Histories troupe with Birmingham Stage Company this March! The Horrible Histories tour is the most wickedly revolting date in every history buff’s calendar, with this year’s all-new show being no exception.

From 26 to the 30 March, The Grand will play host to the often terrifying yet always ridiculous and bloody history of Britain in the brand-new Barmy Britain stage show. From Boudicca, queen of the Celts, to the frightful First World War – and not forgetting all those who lost their heads – this year’s show is set to have audiences rolling in the aisles!

And to get us in the mood, we’re getting all gruesome with our favourite horrible facts. For example, did you know that sausages were banned as only being fit for Barbarians to eat! How many can you surprise your friends and family with?

A Roman cure for snake bite was to rub pig droppings onto the bite and then pour wine mixed with Fennel up your nose!

People who developed plague sores from the Black Death in the mid 14^th century were advised to shave a live chicken’s bottom & strap it onto the site of pain.

Elizabeth I was considered one of the cleanest women in the country, even though she only bathed every 3 months!

While Henry Vlll’s second wife Anne Boleyn was being beheaded, Henry was busy playing tennis!

Some Victorian beggar children hoped to make more money by covering their bare arms & legs with soap and rubbing vinegar on, so the result looked like a mess of angry blisters.

In the 1820 Highland games in Invergarry, one of the events was called ‘Twisting the Cow’, where competitors quite literally had to twist the legs off a dead cow! The winner, who won a sheep, managed it in about an hour.

Soldiers in the trenches during the First World War were thought to have an average of 20 lice crawling over their bodies, but the world record is one poor man who apparently had 10,428 lice in his shirt and nearly as many again in his trousers!

To find out more of these gory and fantastic facts, make sure you get down to the Grand Theatre, Blackpool for Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain this March! For more information and how to book, visit the show page.