Tours and Exhibitions
Terry Deary said of The Terry Deary History Experience Park: "What I hope to build is a History Experience where I recreate authentic villages from various periods — Tudor, Roman, Victorian perhaps — with nothing of the 20th century in them...They'll be enclosed in domes like the Eden Project in Cornwall so they'll be all-weather attractions and they will not be museums or theme parks; they will be peopled by actors and the visitors can join in the never-ending re-enactments of the past — with all its horrible history flavour — over there is a pickpocket on trial for stealing ... is he guilty, do we hang him? You, the visitor, must decide." He wanted the audience to be fully immersed into the culture of the period, "Over there is Mr Shakespeare rehearsing a play and having trouble with the Puritans ... over here are the preparations for Queen Elizabeth's visit...in that house is a craftsman turning wooden bowls, and in that one a woman selling roast thrushes to take away while there is a house being built using genuine tools and skills and over there a Tudor ship. (When the ship is completed it will sail on the river and a new one built — when we have two we'll have a sea battle!)".
The Funfair of Fear exhibition was staged by The National Museum and Galleries of Wales in 2000. The South Wales Echo described it as "an Eye-popping exhibition". The article notes that "visitors to the exhibition will be able to throw beanbag Christians into lions' mouths and hear the sounds of the animals roaring. Bloody-axe beanbags can be hurled at Henry VIII's wives, knocking them over to reveal whether they really did lose their heads to the axe-man. A castle, complete with dungeon, is filled with victims being tortured. It looks stunning. It will win over children who have never been interested in history before."
The Crime and Punishment Exhibition was held at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds between July and November in 2007. It broke attendance records. In 2008, the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester held a Woeful First World War exhibition. From 2009 to October 2010, the Terrible Trenches exhibition was held at the Imperial War Museum, London.
A 2011 UK Horrible Histories tour was planned, The Awful Egyptians, which covered such venues as Grand Opera House, York, New Theatre, Oxford, The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Manchester Opera House.
Read more about this topic: Horrible Histories (book series)