Gangsta Granny at the Mayflower Theatre Southampton Review
Gangsta Granny
Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
30 March to 3 April 2016
Reviewed by Emma Booth
Last night me and my family went to see Gangsta Granny at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton.
Gangster Granny was originally a popular book by David Walliams and was then put on TV so I sort of knew the outline of the story and after hearing great reviews of the show we are very excited with high expectations. The story is about 11-year-old Ben who goes to stay with his granny every Friday night but he finds it so boring he hates going because he knows that they will be eating cabbage soup, cabbage pie, cabbage cake and that nothing exciting ever happens. But then he stumbles upon the secret that his granny is actually a jewel thief and they set off to steal the Crown Jewels together from the Tower of London with hilarious consequences.
The lady who played Gangsta Granny made the show; she was full of energy and wit. My daughter loved the part where she was driving around the stage on her mobility scooter which had everybody in giggles, and the boy who played Ben was faultless giving a great performance. For me personally it was a bit of a let-down, it was a bit too silly in places and I didn’t really get the humour and found some characters a little bit irritating. I thought the Queen was portrayed brilliantly and loved her dancing towards the end.
The ending of the story is a little bit sad but does have a good moral to it about looking after older people as they age as it can be a lonely time for them.
We were sat up in the rear circle and had a good view of the stage, my only criticism being you have very little legroom so after a couple of hours I was feeling a little bit uncomfortable so would definitely recommend getting seats in the stalls. There was ice cream on sale in the interval and at £2.50 I thought that was very reasonable, we parked near the train station about a five minute walk away costing only £2 for the evening. All the staff are lovely very friendly and helpful and we love visiting this theatre and can’t wait to come back again soon.
Rating: 3/5
Tickets cost from £19.50 to £21.50 (booking fees may apply).
Gangsta Granny is at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton until 3 April 2016. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 02380 711811.
Mayflower Theatre, Commercial Road, Southampton, SO15 1GE | 02380 711811
