The Awfully Hilarious Awful Auntie Comes to Life On Stage

Diane Parkes caught up with David Walliams ahead of his best-selling novel, Awful Auntie, heading to the Regent Theatre this October.

What inspired Awful Auntie?
"It may not be the answer you were expecting but I am obsessed with the film The Shining. I wanted to create a horror story where a child was trapped in a house with a dangerous relative, cut off from the outside world. I had a lot of fun creating Aunt Alberta. Villains are always so much more fun than heroes and I wanted her to be funny as much as scary."

How will children react differently to the stage show?
"When you watch a stage show you share the experience with an audience. You're likely to laugh more in an audience, so hopefully the stage show will be a hoot."

What do you hope children will take away from the production?
"Stella is a self-reliant heroine, so I hope children will be inspired to find the strength within themselves to deal with bad situations."

Awful Auntie is at the Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent from Thursday 3rd – Saturday 5th October. Tickets available at atgtickets.com/stoke.

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