Horrible Histories Terry delighted to be the villain of the piece at Sunderland Empire

The Sunderland-born author returned to his roots with a cameo appearance in the Birmingham Stage Company’s production of The Groovy Greeks at Sunderland Empire last night.

Terry has been playing the voice of Zeus throughout the tour, but last night the recording was replaced by an appearance by the man himself on the stage he first graced at just five-years-old.

Zeus went head-to-head with Aphrodite, Poseidon and Athena in a Britain’s Got Talent-style sing-off, which saw Terry perform a song written specially for the Empire show.

The Father of the Gods’ arrogance throughout the show certainly didn’t endear him to the Sunderland audience and Athena was the clear winner - but Terry was delighted with the response from the enthusiastic audience.

“That was awesome,” he said, as he signed autographs for dozens of patient fans in the Empire foyer.

“I was told there was 300 in the audience, but I don’t believe it - there was thousands there, and they were all abusing me. I came on stage and they started shouting abuse at me, booing me.

“Well actually, they were booing Zeus - it’s a tribute to my acting. I was being very nice to Sunderland anarl.

“I enjoyed it - I loved it.”

Review:

Horrible Histories, The Groovy Greeks.

Forget the TV series, this is the original way in which the best-selling series of books was brought to life.

Birmingham Stage has been producing Horrible Histories for a decade now, and it shows.

This is a slick production, with plenty of songs and audience participation to keep the mood light.

The second half is the better, with the company’s trademark 3D backdrop deployed to genuinely excellent effect, especially for a wonderfully entertaining trip to accompany Theseus into the Labyrinth.

All four regulars acquit themselves admirably, with fine singing voices and plenty of gusto on show.

It’s just a shame about the bloke they got to perform Zeus. The Gods alone know where they found him...