David Olusoga – A Gun Through Time

About the show

Have you ever considered how a single weapon could change the course of history? What stories lie behind the guns that shaped empires, wars, and even criminal underworlds? How did these firearms influence not just battles, but entire societies?

Known for his documentaries Black and British: A Forgotten History and A House Through Time, as well has his appearance on Celebrity Traitors, David Olusoga offers remarkable storytelling in this powerful, unexpected and enlightening social narrative.

Join David as he uncovers the story of four firearms. From the Thompson Sub-Machine Gun that was supposed to put an end to the slaughter of the First World War but became the infamous Tommy Gun; the Maxim gun which enabled Europeans to conquer Africa in the 1890s, still being used now in Ukraine; the Brown Bess flintlock musket, standard issue to the British Army symbolising the height of British imperial military power; to the Lee Enfield rifle which was woven into the lives of two generations of our ancestors.

See these weapons up close on stage and delve into their mind-bending hidden social histories.

You’ll also have the chance to ask David your own questions about any historical topic.

Suitable for: ages 12 and over