Your 5am headlines from The Telegraph s news team
2 May 2021 • 5:00am
Welcome to your early-morning news briefing from The Telegraph - a round-up of the top stories we are covering on Sunday. To receive twice-daily briefings by email, sign up to our Front Page newsletter for free.
1. Billions for Scots as PM plans spending spree to save the Union
Boris Johnson is planning to spend billions of pounds on new road and rail links and treating Scottish patients on English NHS beds in a desperate counter-offensive against Nicola Sturgeon.
The strategy to save the Union, to be unveiled days after a feared SNP landslide this week, will also offer student exchanges between UK nations and will see diplomats ordered to make the case against Scottish independence in foreign capitals.
Britons were black ‘before these isles were British’, says Horrible Histories
BBC children’s show is dedicating its first ever episode to black history as creators vow to ‘reevaluate what we think about the past’
Horrible Histories, inspired by author Terry Deary s books, was launched on CBBC in 2009
Credit: BBC
Early Britons were black “before these isles were British”, BBC children’s series Horrible Histories will tell its younger viewers in its first ever episode dedicated to black history.
Now future episodes will focus more on diverse aspects of Britain’s history, starting with an episode dedicated entirely to black history in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.
Historicising ‘Horrible Histories’ Art by Grace Pennock
Horrible Histories. Found on ABC 3 in its heyday,
Horrible Histories originally ran between 2009 and 2014, shaping a generation of young Australians’ views of the past. Structured as a variety show, each week featured a range of catchy songs and sketches that covered everything from Henry VIII’s wives to the Suffragettes. The writing was watertight, the jokes were funny, and its charming cast of comedians like Mathew Baynton (whose portrayal of Charles II was a viral fan favourite) and Martha Howe-Douglas were incredibly talented.
Based upon the series of 23 books by British author Terry Deary,
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Two of the cast of Barmy Britain
The Horrible Histories, Barmy Britain Show will be staged in the car park at the football club on April 16, with two shows, at 2pm and 5pm.
It has been produced by the Birmingham Stage Company and Coalition Agency, which put on similar car park parties last year.
Neal Foster, Actor/Director, of Birmingham Stage Company said: “I’m over the moon to be back on tour with Barmy Britain after it’s hugely successful tour last summer. It’s weird and wonderful to be performing in car parks and to see the audience having fun behind their windshields. We can’t wait to get back out there.
Birmingham Stage Company Best of Barmy Britain heads out on a covid-compliant car park tour
| Updated: 08:00, 17 March 2021
Birmingham Stage Company Best of Barmy Britain heads out on a covid-compliant car park tour next month. Gill Sutherland spoke to writer and director Neal Foster, who stars in the show.
How is it performing in car parks?
Itâs weird and wonderful to be performing in car parks and to see the audience having fun behind their windshields. We toured it last summer and that was a huge success, we are over the moon to be back on tour - we canât wait to get back out there.