Hull New Theatre – until 20th May 2018
Reviewed by Catherine McWilliams
4****
Last night, the foyer at the Hull New Theatre was teeming with excited and very noisy children waiting to see Birmingham Stage Company’s production of David Walliams Awful Auntie and what a fabulous play they enjoyed. A measure of children’s engagement is the level of wriggle and noise, once the play started the children were hooked, not moving and watching intently, it was a total pleasure to witness their enjoyment.
Awful Auntie has been skillfully adapted from David Walliams’ book by Neal Foster and tells the story of young Stella Saxby who wakes to discover she is now an orphan being looked after by her Aunt Alberta. Aunt Alberta’s intentions however are not so good and Stella soon finds herself fighting against her own Aunt. Essentially this is a wonderful tale of goodness against evil, full of humour and wonderfully scary parts with added into the mix a ghost, an owl and a suitably eccentric butler. A lot of the humour is very visual and “toilet” related, which the children of course loved, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it too, often anticipating what would happen and laughing ahead of the joke!
The cast played this with just the right amount of verve and “over the top-ness” to ensure that the children grasped what was happening. Georgina Leonidas was a very convincing Stella with just the right level of fear and bravery. Timothy Speyer was suitably awful as Aunt Alberta and the audience happily laughed, groaned at him and willed him not to win. Richard James played the eccentric butler Gibbon to perfection, with wonderful timing, usually appearing when things had got a little too scary. Wagner the owl puppet (worked by Roberta Bellekom) was a very good addition to the play and I would have quite happily taken him home with me!
The play is set in the grounds and interior of Saxby Hall, a huge mansion, and the lighting and scenery is superb, the way the rooms could be moved around as the cast moved around the rooms was inspired. The background music and lighting build up the tension and atmosphere beautifully and make sure you watch out for the ice.
Awful Auntie would be a wonderful introduction for any child to the theatre and a great night out for the family. One to make you laugh, gasp, groan, boo and cheer – all in all a fun filled night!