Awful Auntie at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Mel Randle
Last night we had a trip out to watch Awful Auntie at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, performed by The Birmingham Stage Company. It is adapted from the David Walliams novel by Neal Foster (who also plays the lead Aunt Alberta), somebody we have seen many times in Horrible Histories shows, so I knew we were in for a treat. The theatre are mindful of it being a ‘school night’ and started the show at 6.30pm, so at two hours long (including interval) it wasn’t too late to finish. I was accompanied by an 8 & 9 year old – both bookworms and both fans of David Walliams. I have never read the books myself but found it really easy to follow the story. The age guidance is 5+ which I think is fair as there are quite a few jump scare moments that could be a little scary for anyone younger. We bought a programme when we arrived, which I highly recommend because it has lots of activities in it to keep the children occupied whilst waiting for the show to start and during the interval.
The cast was a company of five and each one of them kept the young audience engaged and giggling throughout – Gibbon the bumbling butler with his stupidity, Soot and his ‘toilet talk’ (wee and farts are always the first thing to get kids rolling round the aisles!), Aunt Alberta and her hilarious slapstick, Stella the heroic 12 year old, and Wagner, the adorable owl, handled brilliantly by puppeteer Emily Essery.
The scenery, for me, was the star of the show. At the age of 40something, I appreciate an awesome set much more than a bottom joke, and this set was up there amongst some of the best I have seen. The story takes place in several rooms in a big mansion. They created this with a turning set in the middle of the stage, so when moving between the entrance hall to the cellar, to the library and then the kitchen, garage and bedroom, they would simply rotate the set to present a new one. I think the set designer is an utter genius because I couldn’t believe how many rooms were created. It was like a magic trick, just as you thought you’d seen them all, they would give another turn and a new room was created. I would watch the show again just to see that!
In the second half, a lot of the action takes place outside and in the grounds of the mansion, and this is where the set designer really excelled themselves! To give perspective to the backdrop of the mansion, the characters came on with miniature replica puppets of themselves and we were treated to what I would describe as almost a modern day Punch and Judy show. This review could never do it justice so for this reason alone you should go see the show!
All in all, us adults and kids alike had a wonderful evening, lots of belly laughs, a bit of a thriller and some really brilliant puppet work. Anything that promotes literacy and theatre for children is a good thing, and I don’t think you need to be a big fan of David Walliams to enjoy this. What I think I was most impressed with (not having read any of his books) is that it is a proper story with good solid content, not just a load of old nonsense, which I think is what makes it appealing to adults too.
Rating: 5/5
Awful Auntie is showing at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre until Sunday 22nd September
Tickets available from £13.00 subject to a transaction fee of £1.95
For more information, timings and to book tickets, visit https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/awful-auntie/aylesbury-waterside-theatre/