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Poor Napoleon

 
Richard Beck Review by Richard Beck 4 Published: 27 Jun 2026 Old Red Lion Theatre Pub Show Dates: 23 Jun 2026-27 Jun 2026

Adolescence can be a trying time, not just for the young person attempting to navigate its troubled waters, but for everyone in the vicinity. Each teenager has a unique way through this passage and Tim (Andrew Greaves) believes he has found his.

Uplifting, fun and slightly bonkers

Things have not been going well recently. He’s just hit 16, is certainly not one of the lads and has no idea how to proceed with his infatuation for a girl in his class. He leaves school immediately at the end of the day, heads straight home and locks himself in his youthfully untidy bedroom where he pores over obscure books about the great men of history. Today, however, this weekday routine is brightened by the delivery of a parcel.

Meanwhile, Katie, his older sister (Sophie Kean) continues to worry that Tim, with whom she grew up, is no longer the sweet little brother who liked playing with a toy dog and now seems always to be angry. Tonight, when Tim refuses to come to dinner, she decides to see what he’s up to in his room.

With great excitement Tim has opened the parcel from Empire Costumes and is now resplendently attired as Napoleon, replete with bicorne hat en bataille and is reliving the great and tragic moments of the Emperor’s life, currently in exile on St Helena.

Grace Lyons joins Kean posing as various characters to perform scenes from the great man’s life. Introducing elements of melodrama, they are ideal foils for Greaves’ deadpan Napoleonic sincerity. With first-rate timing all round, we are treated to some hilarious moments including a superbly devised mime scene in which the bicorne proves its versatility.

Writer/director Eddie Holmes-Milner makes his debut with poor napoleon! and demonstrates his ability to write engaging material that entertains and brings a fresh approach to the woes of teenage angst. He fully utilises the confines of the Old Red Lion Theatre, Islington, to create an intimate setting of Tim’s bedroom with all its mess.

The production is uplifting, fun and slightly bonkers; a great recipe for a thoroughly enjoyable night out.

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The Blurb:

Men like me, we get our own islands. Mark my words: history will be kind to men with islands.

Tim’s not been himself lately.Every day when he gets back from school, he locks himself in his bedroom.He’s angry all the time.He pores over obscure books about the great men of history.And now, a parcel from EmpireCostume.com?

Tim’s older sister Katie worries that he isn’t the boy she grew up with anymore: her sweet little brother, who liked playing with a toy dog.

When Tim refuses to come to dinner one night, Katie decides to see what it is exactly he’s up to in his room.

The last thing she expects to find is the Emperor of France.