Gangsta Granny

Theatre Royal Brighton, New Road, Wednesday, March 2, to Sunday, March 6

GRANNIES are at the heart of Birmingham Stage Company’s 2016 touring season.

This autumn, to mark what would have been Roald Dahl’s 100th birthday, the company is reviving its adaptation of George’s Marvellous Medicine – where the titular young boy decides to teach his horrible granny a lesson through a homebrewed concoction.

But the sweet granny at the heart of David Walliams’s children’s favourite couldn’t be more different from that vile creature.

All she does to Ben, her grandson, is bore him silly every Friday night, with her lack of television and endless cabbage-based recipes.

But when Ben makes a surprise discovery in his granny’s biscuit tin he uncovers a whole new criminal side to her that he never knew existed.

It was the story which attracted director Neal Foster to adapt the Gangsta Granny for the stage.

“There is a lovely style to Walliams’s work,” he says. “It is similar to Dahl – he doesn’t censure himself, there are really rip-roaring adventures with all sorts of extraordinary characters that are not necessarily politically correct.

“Gangsta Granny is such a touching story – the relationship between Ben and Granny is so wonderful. It does signal how important these relationships are – that you can’t take them for granted. You should make the most of grandma.”

One of the biggest challenges as a director was to convey the feelings of boredom Ben feels when cooped up in Grandma’s house at the start of the story, while at the same time not lose the audience.

“It’s tricky to get it right,” he says. “If an adult gets bored they tend to go to sleep or think about something else.

“If a child gets bored they start talking - they want to go to the loo, or start asking for sweets. You have to keep their interest all the time. One thing I have noticed with children in an audience is they find it very difficult when it’s just two people talking on stage. As soon as they start talking the children switch off. If the present isn’t working they aren’t interested – which is what makes making theatre for them such fun.”

One element which Foster has drawn on is Ben’s parents’ obsession with dancing – the reason why they leave Ben with Granny every Friday night.

“Every scene change is done as a dance,” says Foster. “We have got great choreographers [Paul Chantry and Rae Piper of Chantry Dance Company] who have created changes in every style of ballroom – rhumba, cha cha, jazz and jive.

“I wrote in the script right from the beginning that the set should dance, it almost joins in with the dancing. It has become very effective.”

The set design, by Jackie Trousdale, was also designed to reflect the story’s twists and turns.

“The story is about surprises, so I wanted the set to be the same,” he says. “It’s brilliant – we get audible gasps from the audience, both from adults and children. The fantasy world unfolds throughout – it’s a real theatrical extravaganza.”

Part of the charm of Walliams’ story is it is still very domestic in its setting – albeit exaggerated.

“It’s all about how Ben and Granny don’t relate, they don’t know each other, until they are thrown into an adventure,” says Foster. “That is what makes it so interesting as a story and easily accessible for children. They can see links to their own relatives, and the problems they might have with them.”

Taking the role of Granny is Gilly Tompkins, who Foster admits he practically headhunted after seeing her on stage last year.

Casting Ben proved tougher though.

“He’s on stage from beginning to end,” says Foster. “He has every other line in the show. Ashley Cousins was in Billy Elliott for three years – he’s 18 and had no formal training, but he’s brilliant. There’s a real future for him. His relationship with Gilly is one of the great successes of the show.”

Foster even received a glowing endorsement from Walliams himself, who said: “The brilliant Birmingham Stage Company has produced a fantastic show. It's superb! And so much better than the book!"

“David said Gilly was the perfect Granny,” adds Foster. “He went through two drafts of the script when I was writing it and sent me a series of notes which were fantastically helpful.

“He said the show was better than the book, which I am taking as a compliment and running away with!”

Starts 7pm (not Sun), 10.30am Wed and Fri, 1.30pm Thurs, 2.30pm Sat, 3pm Sun, tickets £20/£15. Call 08448 717650.