Birmingham Stage Company, the acclaimed producers of Horrible Histories and George’s Marvellous Medicine are bringing their world premiere of David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny to the Assembly Hall Theatre from Wed 21st to Sun 25th June.
Gangsta Granny opens with Ben having to visit his boring old grandma. Ben has to spend every Friday night with his gran while his parents go ballroom dancing – and it’s always an ordeal of cabbage soup and Scrabble. Then one day he finds a tin filled with diamonds and gems which leads to the amazing discovery that his granny was once an international jewel thief! Persuaded by Ben, they decide to take on the biggest heist ever – to steal the Crown Jewels – and the adventure of their lifetimes is about to begin.
While David’s grannies were no mobsters, he admits that he did take a touch of inspiration from them. “When I was a child I would spend lots of time with my grandmas,” he says. “Sometimes I would selfishly think spending time with them could be boring but when I got them on a subject like living in London during World War II when bombs were raining down, they would become very animated and I would be enthralled. I realised everyone has a story to tell.”
David even added cheeky elements of their characters to his Gangsta Granny. “There was definitely a smell of cabbages in one of my grandmas’ houses,” David admits. “and the other did break wind like a duck quacking when she walked across the room.”
But they were also greatly loved – just as there is a special bond between Ben and his gran.
After the success of the television film, it seemed only natural that Gangsta Granny should become a stage show. David was approached by the Birmingham Stage Company, whose string of Roald Dahl adaptations including James and the Giant Peach and George’s Marvellous Medicine made it an obvious contender and
when David saw their West End production of Horrible Histories – Barmy Britain, the deal was sealed.
“It’s a huge thrill seeing Gangsta Granny have this whole new life on the stage. There is lots of action in Gangsta Granny, especially when they try to steal the Crown Jewels. The challenge was bringing those scenes to life. But having seen the production’s first night at Birmingham in November 2015 I think its a fantastic show, so much better than the book! ”
David is hoping BSC’s Gangsta Granny will be the perfect outing for families – and that a granny or two are in the audience. And, casting his mind back to his own childhood, he says that in all the craziness of Gangsta Granny, at its heart is a very special relationship.
“The moral of the story is ‘don’t assume old people are boring just because they are old’,” he says. “In fact they are likely to have had a much more interesting life than yours. Talk to old folk, listen to their stories. They are bound to be full of magic and wonder.”
Ashley Cousins plays Ben and he tells me what it’s like to bring David’s character to life. “I am having so much fun”, he says. “We must have been on tour now for more than 18 months and I’m still having the best time. It’s such a wonderful show and the reaction we get from the audiences, all around the country, is just remarkable. I’ve just come off stage now and the buzz that the kids have is so humbling. It is such a wonderful thing to have a thousand children in a theatre because children’s reactions are so unguarded and real. Adults can fake a laugh and things like that whereas children just laugh if they find it funny, and go if they don’t. When they are sitting in silence, absolutely gripped by the show, it’s just wonderful”
He adds, “David has written, at it’s heart, a beautiful story. It makes people laugh, and makes people cry. I’m getting slightly deep here, but it also makes people look at their own relationships with the older people in their families as well. It’s a profound piece, all about family. It’s also thanks to Neal Foster, our Adapter and Director, for the way he’s adapted it for the stage because that’s no mean feat, to adapt a book for the stage. That’s very impressive.”
Gangsta Granny is a must for all families as the show will be enjoyed by everyone from 5 to 105! Its both laugh out loud funny with some brilliant comic scenes but also has some very moving and truthful things to say about family relationships. Tickets can be booked online on www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk or in person at The Gateway, (open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm or alternatively at the Assembly Hall Theatre counter on Saturdays from 12pm to 5pm and from 90 minutes before a show’s advertised start time.