Touring – reviewed at Richmond Theatre
Guest reviewer: Jeanine Jones
Children’s books have the power to inspire, entertain and empower their readers, despite the modern day distractions of technology and social media.
Awful Auntie, the award-winning novel by David Walliams, has hit the stage at the Richmond Theatre, combining the craft of the theatre with the art of great storytelling. Adapted as well as directed by actor/manager of the Birmingham Stage company, Neal Foster, the cast brings the wonderful characters of Walliams’ vivid imagination to life, with a powerful message which will resonate long after the curtain call.
The story is set in Saxby Hall in 1930s England where Stella, ‘Lady Saxby’ (Georgina Leonidas) is forced to escape the clutches of her terrorising, villainous ‘The Shining’-esque (reference is made to this in the play) Aunt Alberta (Timothy Speyer) and her henchman Wagner the owl (puppetry by Rebecca Bellekom).
Alberta will stop at nothing to achieve her goal of obtaining the deed to Saxby Hall, and proves she will eliminate anyone in her path. Orphaned after the murder of her parents by Alberta, Stella meets Soot (Ashley Cousins), a ghost who haunts the mansion, and the unlikely chums – Soot has grown up in the workhouse – hatch a plan to foil Alberta. As both a comedy and a horror, Awful Auntie’s dark moments include Stella being shut in a cage and repeatedly electrocuted by Alberta, showing the story does not patronise its young audience.
Alberta is as comically grotesque as she is dark, eating maggots and a variety of owl-dropping delicacies, and peppering her speech with toilet humour – much to the delight of the children in the audience. A highlight of the play is Alberta’s bathroom scene where Stella and Soot’s strategically placed booby traps are met with huge laughter from the audience – boot polish in her soap, marbles on the floor, an exploding pipe and glass over her toilet seat, complete with wet bloomers.
Timothy Speyer dazzles as the larger than life ‘Awful Auntie’ Alberta, showing his great versatility as a character actor with brilliant mastery of slapstick and physical comedy. Richard James performs multiple comic turns as the eccentric but beloved family butler Gibbon, and pulls off the physicality of playing a much older character with great believability. Gibbon embodies the wonderful twee ‘tea and crumpets’ Englishness of the story, which is sure to be part of its enduring appeal internationally.
Ashley Cousins has great stage presence and energy, and gives a believable performance as cheeky, cockney-rhyming Soot – ‘dog and bone, brown bread’. His character is central to the story, empowering Stella to escape a terrible fate. Georgina Leonidas not only plays a twelve-year-old girl convincingly, but portrays the courage and bravery of the heroine in the face of danger.
Awful Auntie is gripping and pacey throughout, which can not only be attributed to excellent writing and script adaptation, but to the set design by Jackie Trousdale which keeps the rooms and winding staircases moving around the actors.
Jak Poore’s delightful musical score drives the plot forward, and the lighting by Jason Taylor, together with the dark colours of the set, recreate the tone of the novel. Special effects by Scott Penrose include sleet falling onto the roof of Saxby Hall, adding to the magical allure of the play.
Stella’s ultimate liberation from her Aunt, thanks to Wagner the owl who has learned of his planned fate, is a triumph of good over evil and a testament to her true strength which lies within.
The friendship she has found with Soot is key to Walliams’ message that people should be treated the same regardless of class – ‘whether you grow up in a work house or a palace, we’re really all the same’. Stella decides to turn Saxby Hall into an orphanage which is an extremely touching moment for anyone who cares about children’s welfare.
Awful Auntie is ultimately a much-needed message of hope to us all in challenging times, and reminds us to believe in the good in the world: ‘when you’re a child, you can see all the magic in the world… promise even though you can’t see the magic you’ll still believe it in your heart.’ Walliam’s story gives children their power back, which is as relevant today as ever with the abuse, trafficking and victimisation of children prevalent all over the world. The most recent revelations around the abuse of children in Hollywood must put the empowerment of children to the forefront in our minds.
Awful Auntie was a hit with the children I briefly spoke to, who loved the way the scenery moved and the ‘funky music’. They were eagerly awaiting David Walliams’ arrival after the interval, whom I was able to briefly congratulate on his play. The adults as much as the children were thoroughly engrossed in the play – myself included, and I really felt like a child again. As an actor admiring the beautiful Richmond Theatre, I noticed the inscription above the stage ‘To wake the soul by tender strokes of art’. Birmingham Stage company, under the direction of Neal Foster, have certainly managed to do this and have created a brilliant adaptation of Awful Auntie.
Awful Auntie runs at the Richmond Theatre until November 5th before continuing it’s tour.
photo credit: Mark Douet
