Gangsta Granny at the King’s Theatre Edinburgh Review
Gangsta Granny
King’s Theatre, Edinburgh
5-9 October 2016
Reviewed by Dawn Watson
We love David Walliams and love this particular book, having watched the film with my two girls several times. I wasn’t sure how the story would transfer into a play but we thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Gangsta Granny was brought to the stage by the Birmingham Stage Company.
Gangsta Granny enthrals the audience with the lovely story of 11 year old Ben’s relationship with his ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ mad parents and his cabbage obsessed granny. As most 11 year olds will say grannies are boring! Ben’s parents are dancing fans and love nothing more than enjoying dancing time on a Friday so Ben goes off to his grannies every week to be looked after, which he dreads! All Ben wants to do is read his favourite ‘plumbing weekly’ magazine and stay home. Ben’s granny just loves having him to stay making everything imaginable with cabbage just for him to eat when he stays. And a wee game of scrabble too! Ben counts the hours till home time… you really feel for Ben’s granny as his parents have no time for her and never stop to pop in to see her…
Ben’s parents are not interested in his passion for plumbing and encourage him to do ballroom dancing and share their enthusiasm, but Ben hates it and this particular scene is really funny when you see Ben being paraded in all these fancy dancing costumes, our particular favourite being the Quality Street one!
The story over the two hours tells how Ben finds out about his granny’s secret past as a jewel thief when he finds all her jewels in a biscuit tin! He begs her to tell him all about it and suddenly granny is no longer boring she is Gangsta Granny and now he is desperate to go visit her to hear more of her stories… He tells his granny how he would love to steal the Crown Jewels with her and with his plumbing knowledge works out a plan how they can do it… The story of the jewel heist is funny, heart-warming and laugh out loud. He nearly misses out on joining his granny when his parents enter him into a dancing competition which he is awful at and embarrasses his parents. It’s very funny.
As I had read the book with my daughters and seen the film I knew how the story ended and I was unsure how they could portray this on stage … and without giving the ending away this was done very sympathetically and my daughter said she had a lump in her throat, it really showed the love and bond that had developed between Ben and his Gangsta Granny. Really making you think about your own granny!
The stage setting was just three ‘buildings’ which were uniquely changed throughout the play to be the next shop, house, bed, castle, school etc. it was ingenious and very very clever… with using a few other actors who danced and kept the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ theme running throughout the play, they were able to alter the stage setting very quickly and within the story…
It really was brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was heart-warming, funny and although probably suited to the younger audience with some very funny jokes, dances etc. aimed at them – my 13 year old daughter said she liked it too and found it really ‘just like the book’…
We would really recommend this show, very good value for such a professional and brilliantly acted show… particular mention to Gilly Tompkins who played the Granny – she was brilliant, we loved her!
Tickets cost from £17.50 (booking fees may apply).
Gangsta Granny is at the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh until 9 October 2016. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0131 529 6000.
King’s Theatre, 2 Leven Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9LQ | 0131 529 6000