Awful Auntie at The Capitol Horsham – Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Amanda Hayes
We love a show at The Capitol in Horsham, the seats are soft and comfortable, more like a cinema than a theatre and it’s a fairly small auditorium compared to some others, so it has an intimate feeling with a fabulous view from every seat. We find snacks and drinks to be reasonably priced, especially the half time ice cream, and the bar well staffed, so the typical interval queues get dealt with very quickly. Should you arrive early there is also a small café area. Both areas have plenty of comfy seating.
Although there isn’t any specific parking for the theatre there are plenty of car parks within a 5 minute walk and one right opposite, which can be used evenings and weekends. It was easy to park, and as it is free after 8pm, you just need to pay a reasonable charge for the remaining 90 minutes.
When my husband, eleven year old son & I, arrived at The Capitol, to see the stage version of David Walliams Awful Auntie it was fabulous to see so many happy families queuing to get into what looked like an almost full house. We arrived a bit early but even with 30 minutes to go you literally couldn’t move for excited children. As an added bonus they were handing out free Awful Auntie stickers to the children and there was a stall selling David Walliams books, so we were all in the mood before even going into the auditorium.
Produced by The Birmingham Stage Company, acclaimed for their productions of Gangsta Granny, Billionaire Boy and Demon Dentist, Awful Auntie tells the story of Stella Saxby, 12 year old heir to a manor house Saxby Hall. Not for those with nervous disposition the story deals with murder, ghosts, and electrocution! Be aware that some children may find it a bit scary, as its quite dark in places, but all the faces we saw were just totally captivated. We assumed that at 11, it may be a bit young for our son, especially as there were lots of very young children in the audience, but it wasn’t at all, the deep dark story and fabulous mixed performance style kept him enthralled from start to finish.
At the beginning of the play Stella wakes from a coma, bandaged from head to toe, to discover her despicable aunt Alberta and her evil owl Wagner looking after her. Stella soon finds out her aunt has murdered her parents to become the new heir to Saxby Hall, and she will be next, but first Alberta needs to find the deeds to the house. Thrown into the coal cellar while Alberta searches the house, she makes friends with resident ghost Soot, and together they draw up plans to get rid of Stella’s awful auntie.
We found the whole performance to be incredibly clever, from the fantastic set spinning 360 degrees throughout the play, to the wonderful puppets and miniature cars & bikes that depicted Stella, Alberta, Wagner & Soot in several scenes, it was a joy to watch. The fabulous cast played by the likeable Stella (Annie Cordoni), ghost & London chimney sweep, Soot (Matthew Allen), despicable Aunt Alberta (Neal Foster) and not forgetting the brilliant butler, Gibbon (Zain Abrahams), really made the show, filling it with constant interest, there was never a moment you could take your eye of the stage.
Starting at 6.30pm it was the perfect timing too as it finished around 8.30pm, late but not too late for a treat for most children, especially for a weekend night. If it’s too late for your little ones there are also mid morning & lunchtime performances on certain days.
We spent a great couple of hours watching the show and like every other person in there we came out with great big smiles on our faces. Fast paced, fun and packed full of things to draw your eye, I highly recommend Awful Auntie for both young and older children alike.
Rating: 5/5
https://www.thecapitolhorsham.com/whats-on/all-shows/awful-auntie/
Tickets from £22.00
The Capitol, North Street, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1RG
call the box office on 01403 750220