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Bloody Marvellous: A Comedy Show about the Middle Ages

A comic tour of the medieval world with daft professor of medieval studies Luke Connell and his games, props and songs. Get to know creatures like sea-centipedes and manticores, dogs with names like Havegoodday, and characters like Eilmer the flying monk. Discover the old world’s taste in tourist tat, and expect to leave convinced that medieval medicine was better than the modern kind. Or maybe not.

“a lovely stage presence…this is awesome” (one4review).

As heard on BBC Radio 4’s “In Our Time”.

News and Reviews for this Show

August 5, 2025  One4Review The word for this show is ‘gentle’. Mr Connell is a tall gentleman with a genial manner presenting a lovely wander through various elements of medievality. Mr Connell is a professor of medieval studies, and as a result of one particular – repeated – word choice in translation from medieval French, this show probably isn’t suitable for children. Which is a shame because: 1. the word isn’t used offensively or aggressively, rather as an accurate translation, and 2. I can imagine children aged about ten finding the rest of this show equally fascinating and hilarious, and not just for its reference to the medical uses of poo (in the Bristol Stool Chart) and it’s medieval equivalent (colours of wee). The plight of future medievalists notwithstanding, this is a lovely gentle post-prandial sort of show, at least in part because of the venue’s seating arrangements. The show’s premise-slash-jumping-off-point is that we’re all medieval in some way, and that the medieval period was just better. Mr Connell takes us through various examples from topics including medicine, maps and names for dogs, and explains, with on screen examples of his thesis. Delivery is gentle, and there’s learning as well as laughing, without anything being too much to disturb the digestion of lunch. This is an easy-listening easy-learning sort of show, a welcome – and gentle – break from the loud, forceful, demanding, comedy norm. Click Here

August 4, 2025  Entertainment Now It’s really quite joyful when somebody loves what they do so much it spills over away from their profession and into the rest of their lives. Such is how it seems to be with Luke Connell, professor of medieval French literature and the most medieval of us all – we are told – even if we are all a bit medieval too. It’s an unusual premise to start with, but Connell’s tongue-in-cheek parallels between the medieval and the modern hold a little bit of water along with their multiple piques of interest. With the aid of every teacher’s favourite modern pal, PowerPoint slides, he educates with enthusiasm and a contagious smile. It’s a taster hour packed with medieval highlights, from medicine to mythical creatures brought to you with the aid of an authentically named dog. Connell succeeds in making the medieval accessible, from its history to its science, tiers of angels and bawdy monks included. Bloody Marvellous isn’t laugh-out-loud hilarious by any means, but it succeeds in communicating just why Luke Connell disregarded other childhood ambitions in favour of pursuing his love affair with the period and sharing it with others. Fascinating medical ingredients read like a Grimm Fairy Tale contents page, and the wonder of suspended disbelief from the people who conjured griffins and formicaleons as possibilities in the world give hints at what it was like to believe in the impossible. Who wouldn’t want to spend an hour in such a world? Click Here

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