New Victoria Theatre Woking – until 12th February 2022
Reviewed by Carly Burlinge
5*****
David Walliams’ famous book Gangsta Granny has come to life on stage. When Ben (Justin Davies) realises it’s Friday Night and his mum (Jess Nesling) and dad (Jason Furnival) are off to their weekly dance class. Panic sets in as he has to go to Granny’s once again for his usual boring evening of scrabble playing and worst of all eating and smelling Cabbage! Granny (Isabel Ford) on the other hand, thoroughly enjoys her evenings with Ben although he thinks she’s tedious and would rather be anywhere but there. However, Granny has an enormous secret… and things are about to get really exciting for the pair of them as they embark on an adventure full of fun. Bringing them closer than they’ve ever been before.
Ben and Granny showed a lovely connection and were entertaining to watch especially with granny’s wonderful moves along with her continuous farts and her getaway motorised scooter making all the kids as well as adults laugh and smile throughout the show. Mum was great to watch with her obsession of dancing and foot work along with her forever celebrity crush of the famous dancer Flavio (Irfan Damani). Dad also offered some great dancing with some elaborate costumes and a few gags thrown in for the audience’s amusement. Flavio (Irfan Damani) took the spotlight with his long luscious hair flicks, elegant see-through top and flirtatious notions. He was really amusing to watch and received much laughter and attention. He also got the audience riled up with his are you ready to rumble.
The set was done incredibly well with the view of 3 houses/buildings which all opened up into different areas such as Granny’s kitchen, the corner shop, living room, bedrooms all this being cleverly done with parts being pulled out for beds, sofas and props.
This was a smashing production to watch with lots of laughter and many smiling faces within the audience. A marvellous night out for the family, definitely a good laugh and one to not be missed.