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David Walliams is one of Britain’s best-loved public figures with his own brand of warm charm, acerbic wit and confusingly camp personality; his books have sold over 10-million copies worldwide and have been translated into over 40 languages and Gangsta Granny was Walliams’ fourth children’s book; the stage show that arrived at Blackpool Grand Theatre last week therefore came with high expectations attached.

Nowadays it is difficult to watch any domestic drama aimed at children without seeing seams of the brilliant Roald Dahl threading through, and certainly Walliams’ own darkly-edged personality and written characters would not be at odds with a line-up of Dahl’s creations, however, in this adaptation there feels to be a laziness to the writing that doesn’t enable us to connect (positively or negatively) with the flamboyant characters we meet onstage.

There are some fine performances from the small company of actors, some outrageously entertaining costumes and accompanying dance moves, an astoundingly stylish and adaptable set and some clever scene-changing choreography to-boot. There are even some very funny moments including stupidly entertaining lines like ‘plumbing is not even a real career – why don’t you become a ballroom dancer instead?’ a farting queen and a disco dancing cat.

However, apart from the central characters of 11-year old Ben and his aged and isolated Grandma who may or may not be the internationally renowned Black Cat jewel-thief, the other characters are a confusion of stock turns and phrases, and whilst this makes for a light and frothy evening’s entertainment, overall theatrical cohesion and engaging narrative are sacrificed.

The programme notes state “This production is dedicated to Rose Zierer (1910-2014) The adaptor and director Neal Foster was introduced to Rose through the Good Neighbours Scheme, who work in partnership with Age UK. He visited Rose every week for six years and it changed both their lives.”

The subject of isolation of older people in our communities is an important one that runs boldly through the production and yet, at the end, the main perpetrators of the desertion, Ben’s parents, are left unpunished and uncaring; literally dancing. Whilst ending with a high-energy song and dance number makes for stock theatrical trajectory, in this production it feels like a cheap trick designed to ensure we leave the auditorium with a smile and a warm glow; sadly though this has not been earned during the previous two-hours.

The Birmingham Stage Company who are the producers of this piece are solely funded through Box Office sales and they are truly to be admired for successfully achieving this. Their long association with Dahl, Morpurgo, Pullman, Horrible Histories and now Walliams all represent safe audience pulls which will ensure that high-quality writing can be taken to stages and to children all around the UK, another aim which is to be commended. The Gangsta Granny Tour has been running since November last year and continues until January 2017 and no doubt thousands of children will have a good night out, here’s hoping though that this is not their only experience of what theatre is and what great live storytelling can be.

To find out more about the Good Neighbours Scheme visit www.ageuk.org.uk

 

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    Melanie Whitehead is the Creative Director of The Old Electric, Blackpool's newest theatre. She previously worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.

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