Anna Burnside reviews an entertaining production.
Henry Cyril Paget, the Fifth Marquis of Anglesey, died penniless at the age of 29 in Monte Carlo. Yet he fitted enough fabulousness into his short life to justify a musical biography, and that would have made him extremely happy.
Despite doing all the standard Victorian things required of men of his class - going to Eton, getting engaged - this forgotten aristocrat stayed true to his thespian aspirations, dressed like a Las Vegas showgirl, gutted the family chapel to create his own theatre and burned through the family fortune then crashed and burned before 30.
The remaining Pagets destroyed all but one records of his existence, so Seiriol Davies has made up his spangly tragi-comic life story, mixing Gilbert & Sullivan and Monty Python with a well-stocked dressing up box and setting it all to some deliciously brassy live music.
How To Win Against History started in a tiny Underbelly venue. Thanks to the resources of producer Francesca Moody, it has been scaled into a perfect Fringe entertainment. Davies is delightfully coy as Paget while Matthew Blake does the heavy lifting in every role.
Paget was too far ahead of his time to actually win against history, but this show does the next best thing. It sees him - which is all he ever wanted - then gives him the unhinged tribute that he truly deserved.
How to Win Against History performs at Underbelly George Square (Udderbelly) at 19:15 until August 24, 2025 (not the 18th).
RSS