Bloomsbury Theatre – until 6 January 2019
Reviewed by Alexandra Sykes
5*****
When you get told by an 8 year old that Awful Auntie is about a child trying to escape her Auntie with the help of a ghost and an owl you know you need a show just to understand the plot.
Set in and around Saxby Hall, Awful Auntie stars Georgina Leonidas as 12 year old orphan Stella Saxby who tries to escape her Auntie whilst trying to work out how her parents really died. Stella is helped by the ghost of Soot (Ashley Cousins) and Wagner the owl (Roberta Bellekom).
The awful auntie in question is Aunt Alberta played by Richard James, who is trying to find the deeds to Saxby Hall so she can sell it and turn it into an Owleum (and owl museum). However her star attraction would be Wagner stuffed and put on display which, rightly so, upsets Wagner meaning his allegiance switches from Alberta to Stella. Wagner is a very impressive puppet operated by Roberta Bellekom whose owl impressions sound like the real thing and the role is not used enough throughout the show.
The scenery is basic but impressive with 3 rotating towers that rotate to be Stella’s bedroom, the kitchen, the cellar, the garage and the study to name a few.
The highlight of the show for the entire audience was David Walliams appearing on stage at the end of the show thanking the cast and announcing that he was the new Prime Minister of the UK due the recent vote of no confidence.
Awful Auntie is fun for all the family as there are jokes for children and adults and a reference to The Shining which the adults in the audience found amusing.