How To Win Against History
A riches-to-rags story in a hilarious, ripped-up musicalBigger and sparklier than ever before
A turbo-charged 90 minutes of joy... a cavalcade of camp that leaves you grinning like a Cheshire cat
Fun, frolics and an uplifting message
Bristol 24/7
A dish of delightfully unfettered silliness
StageTalk Magazine
Henry Cyril Paget was one of the world’s wealthiest men, until he lost it all by being too damn fabulous.
The 5th Marquess of Anglesey blew his family’s colossal fortune on diamond frocks, lilac-dyed poodles and putting on simply amazing plays – to which nobody came – causing a very Edwardian scandal. His fabulous flame burned brightly, briefly and extremely cross-dressingly until he died at just 29, after which his outraged family destroyed every record of him ever having had existed. Now Henry’s back to tell his regrettable cautionary tale, with nothing to his name but savage wit, banging belters and a metric tonne of sparkle.
This fierce and tragi-gorgeous comedy musical is a true story about expectations, masculinity, privilege and failure on an epic scale. It’s about feeling desperately weird and alone, but knowing that to fit in would cost you everything.
How To Win Against History was the solid gold, diamante-studded hit of Edinburgh Fringe 2016, widely acclaimed by the critics and winner of The Stage Edinburgh Award and Broadway Baby Bobby. Now Bristol Old Vic and The Olivier Award-winning Producers of Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!, Fleabag and Baby Reindeer are bringing it back in a new production: bigger and more sparkly than ever for 2025, marking the 150th anniversary of Paget’s birth.
He’s having a bit of a moment, and you’re all invited to his fabulous party.
Artwork by Feast Creative
Video by DMLK
"Long before the world had Elton John, David Bowie, or Grayson Perry, Henry was out there" | Costume designer Ryan Dawson Laight
25 Jun 2025
Director's Note from Lisa Spirling
18 Jun 2025
How to Make a Musical | 5 mins with Dylan Townley & Leo Munby
16 Jun 2025
Henry's World On Stage | 5 mins with Set Designer Hayley Grindle
16 Jun 2025
Fact, factoids and the fabulous lives of the 5th Marquess of Anglesey
9 Jun 2025
The glorious goings-on of ‘How To Win Against History’ rehearsals!
9 Jun 2025
Hilarious, beautiful and truly moving
The List
Fiendishly creative
FEST Magazine
Sparkling piece of musical theatre
The Times
Gleeful, ludicrous – a larky collision of Gilbert & Sullivan and Monty Python
Time Out
Hilarious. Seiriol Davies is a joy
The Upcoming
Crackpot fabulousness, high camp and unexpected poignancy
The Guardian
On Stage
In Rehearsal
Photos: Pamela Raith
