Image by Charlie Clift.
The bestselling children’s author David Walliams and the award-winning Birmingham Stage Company have teamed up for a brand-new production of the family adventure Awful Auntie, touring the UK 14th March – 7th December, coming to Poole this weekend and Southampton in November. This is their latest collaboration in a series of shows which includes the Oliver Award-nominated Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy.
Awful Auntie is your fourth book to be translated into a play by Birmingham Stage Company, how does that feel for you?
David: It’s a thrill. They’re the kings of doing family shows and so I’m really lucky that I can trust them 100% with it and with this story in particular you have to be very imaginative with the problem of moving it from the book to the stage because it’s a book that’s on a big scale. You’ve got a ghost, you’ve got a killer owl, you’ve got a car chase. The show has to be spectacular, funny and thrilling, and I have seen it already and it is all of those things.
How involved are you with the adaptation?
David: Neal (Foster) is a writer, director, actor, and with this piece he adapted the book, he’s directed it and he’s staring in it… a very humble man! We initially have a chat, I see the designs, the costumes, the sets and I come and watch rehearsals and come when the show opens but I do know that he completely knows what he’s doing. I’ve never directed a play, so the best thing is just to make sure the thing is heading in the right direction.
Have you ever been tempted to pop up in one of the roles on the stage?
David: Seeing it all again I’ve realized what an amazing part Aunt Alberta is. It’s a female part played by a man so one day I would like to play Aunt Alberta, but I can’t commit to a production for practical reasons like being a dad and having to do other things but one day I’d like to. There is something special about sitting in an audience and getting to experience your story while hearing the laughter, the gasps, the applause, and all those things that would not be the same if you were on stage.
With the success of the previous stage versions of Billionaire Boy and Demon Dentist, when working on a new book, do you think how it could be on stage?
David: Normally when I’m writing I’m thinking about them as films. It’s more just the process rather than me thinking that they are going to be a film, I’m just trying to visualize everything. So I’m trying to think “what does this scene look like?” or “what are the people saying?”. However, I do like creating really larger than life characters who I think are very suited to the stage because the stage is very hyper real in plays and characters can talk to the audience. You want to boo the baddie, so I get a kick out of creating characters like Aunt Alberta.
Something I learnt from reading Roahl Dahl was that if you can make your villains equally funny and scary then you probably are on the right path. In Awful Auntie there’s a giant owl called Wagner who can fly after Stella the heroine and pick her up and fly off with her as if she is a bit of prey. It’s fun to come up with these things that are pretty surreal and still scary but within safe boundaries. Kids like that, it’s quite fun to be scared but not in a way that’s going to upset you but just in a way that’s going to thrill you, so that’s what I’m going for in the story.
As your son gets older are you finding yourself using him as a sounding board for characters and ideas?
David: We talk about ideas when we’re at the park and sometimes he gives me great ideas like he gave me the title and the idea for Mega Monster, which came out a few years ago, but the problem is he does want 50% of the royalties! He’s great to take to the shows and see what he’s laughing at and see if he’s enjoying it or not, and I can show him things sometimes; like does he like this cover? does he like this artwork? does he think the idea of the book is exciting? all of those things.
I have to listen to my own instinct, it’s not like he’s chomping at the bit for the next story or that he’s going to say its brilliant dad, but it’s good to gauge his reaction, cause kids don’t fake it. You know instantly because they do not lie, so if they don’t like something you’ll know.
With your acting background did you ever go out and do regional theatre yourself when you were starting out?
David: Sort of. Me and Matt Lucas started our first show in Edinburgh in 1995, nearly 30 years ago. In fact, Matt recently sent me a picture of Jackson’s Lane Community Centre which was our very first gig and he said wow 29 years ago. That’s how long we have been in each other’s lives! We did a show in Edinburgh and we took it on a small show of art centers and little theatres. That was quite exciting and then we did a Little Britain tour which was on a much bigger scale.
What I like is the further you get from London, generally the noisier the audience are because there’s just more of an atmosphere. I’ll be going around the country making a few surprise appearances, just being there and watching it. I love watching it and I love looking at everyone’s reaction, it’s a nice warm feeling inside, that pride that you came up with the story that’s been put on the stage by this fantastic group and that audiences are loving it, it’s a great feeling which I’ll never tire of.
So then what’s next for you? Obviously, you have Astro Chimp your new book coming, but are there any other plans? Are we going to see you back on the screen?
David: Me and Matt are working on a brand new show together with brand new characters. So that’s exciting cause as much as I love writing on my own writing books, it’s very rare that its collaborators writing the same story together. I’m working on a cartoon series of Gangsta Granny and I’m writing a movie screenplay of Slime for Nickelodeon. We have a few other bits and pieces in development, a film of Fing from one of my books so there’s loads of activities that flow from the books that’s more than just writing the books. So, there’s lots to do, we’re working on a Gangsta Granny musical, all kinds of things. That’s one of the incredible things about writing books, the book is not the end, can it be a play? can it be a TV series? can it be a movie? even a theme park ride with Gangsta Granny!
There’s all these other opportunities and different ways how people can enjoy the stories, so I’m thrilled for this.
21 Mar 24 to 24 Mar 24 Lighthouse Poole
28 Mar 24 to 31 Mar 24 Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
04 Apr 24 to 07 Apr 24 Sunderland Empire
10 Apr 24 to 13 Apr 24 New Theatre, Cardiff
18 Apr 24 to 21 Apr 24 Opera House Manchester
25 Apr 24 to 27 Apr 24 Grand Opera House, Belfast
09 May 24 to 12 May 24 Richmond Theatre
16 May 24 to 19 May 24 Venue Cymru, Llandudno
23 May 24 to 25 May 24 The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford
29 May 24 to 02 Jun 24 Cambridge Arts Theatre
06 Jun 24 to 09 Jun 24 King’s Theatre, Glasgow
13 Jun 24 to 16 Jun 24 Liverpool Empire
20 Jun 24 to 23 Jun 24 Theatre Royal Nottingham
27 Jun 24 to 30 Jun 24 Hall for Cornwall, Truro
04 Jul 24 to 06 Jul 24 New Victoria Theatre, Woking
11 Jul 24 to 14 Jul 24 Darlington Hippodrome
18 Jul 24 to 21 Jul 24 Hull New Theatre
25 Jul 24 to 27 Jul 24 Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
12 Sep 24 to 15 Sep 24 Gaiety Theatre, Dublin
19 Sep 24 to 22 Sep 24 Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury
26 Sep 24 to 29 Sep 24 Grand Opera House York
T10 Oct 24 to 12 Oct 24 Theatre Royal, Brighton
17 Oct 24 to 19 Oct 24 The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham
31 Oct 24 to 02 Nov 24 Milton Keynes Theatre
07 Nov 24 to 10 Nov 24 New Wimbledon Theatre
27 Nov 24 to 30 Nov 24 MAST, Southampton
Tickets are available from the theatre box office and via Birminghamstage.com.
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