Awful Auntie now on at Bradford's Alhambra Theatre

The Birmingham Stage Company production is a classic David Walliams’ story, following on from other such successes as Gangsta Granny, Billionaire Boy, and Demon Dentist.

The show starts in the family estate of Saxby Hall when the main character Stella Saxby wakes up in bed from a coma after three months, and only her Aunt Alberta can tell that her parents died in a car crash.

Stella Saxby, played by Annie Cordoni, and Aunt Alberta, played by Neal Foster (Image: Mark Douet)

Stella soon realises that Alberta is not telling her the truth and quickly discovers she is in for the fight of her life as her auntie’s motives soon become clear.

Annie Cordoni showed off her talent as the main character Stella and she worked well with Matthew Allen, who played chimney sweep ghost Soot.

Soot was a fun-loving character who appealed to adults and children alike.

I must have counted nearly a dozen references to Cockney rhyming slang in Soot’s lines before the interval.

Stella, played by Annie Cordoni, and Soot, played by Matthew Allen (Image: Mark Douet)

Neal Foster, who was also adapter and co-director of the show, perfectly captured the persona of the “awful” Aunt Alberta.

One of the scenes featuring a number of funny pranks planned by Soot and Stella against Aunt Alberta will be sure to tickle your funny bone.

Zain Abrahams must have had fun playing the buffoon and slightly mad servant Gibbon, who elicited a number of laughs and giggles as the goofy character bumbled around the stage much to the delight of many children.

Gibbon, played Zain Abrahams, and Stella, played by Annie Cordoni, and the owl Wagner (Image: Mark Douet)

One of the true delights of this production of Awful Auntie was Wagner, Aunt Alberta’s owl, who was masterfully played by Emily Essery.

Wagner was a puppet and Essery’s control of the owl brought the character to life.

Aunt Alberta, played by Neal Foster, with her owl Wagner (Image: Mark Douet)

Essery’s little squeaks and squawks in interactions with the other characters were also perfectly timed and very cute in their own right, drawing the attention of the audience to the puppet character.

There were also some interesting scenes involving the use of small puppets by Foster, Cordoni, and Allen, which creatively used perspective to illustrate drama.

One of the scenes from Awful Auntie (Image: Mark Douet)

A lot of credit must go to set and costume designer Jacqueline Trousdale.

The set featured one centrepiece which was used in a variety of scene-setting ways throughout the production, and the transitions from one scene to the next were seamless.

The costumes, particularly Aunt Alberta’s garish outfit, were quite creative.

Awful Auntie will run at The Alhambra until Sunday, May 25. To book visit bradford-theatres.co.uk/whats-on/awful-auntie