Gangsta Granny at Venue Cymru Review
Gangsta Granny
Venue Cymru, Llandudno
22-24 April 2016
Reviewed by Louise Turton
David Walliams has long been a firm favourite author of my daughter’s so on the way to the Venue Cymru I had a very excited passenger. During the journey we pondered how the book could be transferred to the stage as we had both previously seen a BBC production that could obviously lavish money on the production.
Gangsta Granny is the production of The Birmingham Stage Company. It featured a small ensemble cast of ten – some playing more than one part, all of which were superb and kept the show moving seamlessly along. The magic of the show, alongside the actors had to be the ingenious stage setting. It truly has to be seen and is something I have never come across before. It kept both myself and my daughter mesmerized throughout. Three boxes upon the stage are transformed with a deft turn from various cast members to depict the settings to tell the story, including much to our amazement even The Tower of London. Also throughout the play a clever use of soundtrack is used to depict certain events, such as a car being driven or heavy footsteps.
Gangsta Granny tells the story of a young boy Ben, who on Friday evenings has to go to his Grandmother’s house while his parents go ballroom dancing. He always dreads going as finds it dull and boring and is constantly being fed various concoctions of cabbage-related dishes to his horror. On the Saturday morning he accidently stumbles upon his Granny’s secret biscuit tin filled with jewels and what follows is a hilarious, heart-warming adventure between Ben and his Gran.
The story even manages to feature a Strictly Come Dancing style competition. During this we were made to feel like part of the audience which was great fun.
This was a fantastic, well produced show, and would easily have been my daughter’s favourite play to date other than the fact she got rather upset at the end – without giving too much away, and judging on the laughter surrounding me by both adults and children alike I can assume many felt the same.
A brilliant night out and a show I can recommend to young and old.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £14 to £18 (Family of 4 £54).
Gangsta Granny is at Venue Cymru in Llandudno until 24 April 2016. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01492 872000.
Venue Cymru, The Promenade, Llandudno, Conwy, LL30 1BB | 01492 872000
