An early summer holiday treat, Birmingham Stage Company’s adaptation of David Walliams’ book, Awful Auntie, is entrancing children in Darlington this week.
Twelve year old Stella awakes from a long sleep to discover she has survived a car crash in which both her parents died. Copiously bandaged and bedridden, she is nursed by her Aunt Alberta, who has her eye on the prize of her inheritance. Confined to the cellar, Stella meets Scot, a friendly ghost and together they hatch a plan.
It was not an easy watch, with a sense of threat throughout, dark themes and a wordy plot.This young audience was hooked. Two hours is a long time to concentrate but it was quite something to witness, above the rustling of sweet wrappers, the children gripped through the first half and transfixed through the second.
Production values were high as you might expect from a London show – the set, the sound, the special effects – and with all the elements of pantomime excepting the audience participation: Stella a heroic Cinderella (Annie Cordoni), Scot the lovable Buttons rogue (Matthew Allen) and Alberta the Dame and Ugly Sisters wrapped up in one (Neal Foster). No Fairy Godmother here to lighten the sinister mood, but there is an owl, beautifully puppeteered by Emily Essery and quite the understated star of the show.
Birmingham Stage Company is touring Awful Auntie across the UK and Ireland until November. More information about the tour Here
