The bestselling children’s author David Walliams came face-to-face today for the first time with one of his most monstrous creations, Aunt Alberta. The world premiere of Awful Auntie, the UK’s bestselling children’s paperback in 2016, embarks on a national tour on 21 September from Horsham. It has been adapted for the stage by The Birmingham Stage Company, the award-winning producers of David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny which recently finished its sell-out run at the Garrick in the West End.
Taking the title role of Aunt Alberta is Timothy Speyer. Tim has appeared in productions by the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company and returns to the Birmingham Stage Company for this world premiere tour. Alberta’s niece Stella, who must fight for her life against her murderous aunt, is played by film and TV star Georgina Leonidas. Georgina played Katie Bell, Harry’s fellow Gryffindor Quidditch player, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2. Before then Georgina was Molly in CBBC’s The Basil Brush Show for five seasons. Hot on the heels of their West End run of Gangsta Granny comes Ashley Cousins who plays Soot, the ghost of Saxby Hall, and Richard James, who plays Gibbon, the extremely elderly butler.
When Stella sets off to visit London with her parents, Lord and Lady Saxby, she has no idea her life is in danger. Waking up three months later, only her Aunt Alberta can tell Stella what has happened. But not everything Aunt Alberta tells her turns out to be true and Stella quickly discovers she’s in for the fight of her life against her very own awful Auntie! The tour will run until December 2018, visiting over fifty UK venues.
David Walliams said “The Birmingham Stage Company’s Gangsta Granny is truly brilliant, so I’m hugely excited that they’re now bringing Awful Auntie to the stage. It promises to be a thrilling show and a total hoot – Wagner and I can’t wait to see it!”
