THE stage adaptation of comedian and author David Walliams’ children’s book, titled Awful Auntie, is being brought to the Cliffs Pavilion as part of an 18 month tour.

It follows the record-breaking tour of Walliams’ Gangsta Granny, which recently finished a sell-out 50-week trip around the UK.

Awful Auntie was published in September 2014 and went to No.1 in the

children’s book chart for seven weeks.

The paperback was published in February 2016 and sold 212,000 copies, making it the best-selling children’s paperback of the year.

Awful Auntie tells the story of Stella, who, when she sets off to visit London with her parents, has no idea her life is in danger.

Waking up from a coma three months later, only her Aunt Alberta can tell Stella what has happened. But not everything Aunt Alberta tells her turns out to be true and Stella quickly discovers she’s in for the fight of her life against her very own awful Auntie.

David Williams’ tale of frights, fights and friendship features a very large owl, a very small ghost and a very awful Auntie!

Walliams began his publishing career at Harper Collins in 2008 with his

debut novel The Boy in the Dress. Since then he has written nine more books plus five picture books. Three of his books have won National Children’s Book Awards.

Awful Auntie is brought to the theatre by The Birmingham Stage Company.

Diane Parkes chats to the TV celebrity:

What or who 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. As for the character herself I had a lot of fun creating Aunt Alberta. Villains are

always so much more fun than heroes. I wanted her to be funny as much as scary, which is something my literary hero Roald Dahl always did so brilliantly.

Echo: David Walliams

I have to ask the question – did/do you have any awful aunties and are they recreated in any way in the book?

I am lucky enough to have three nice aunties, so no Alberta is not based on them. So in writing the book I let my imagination run riot which is normally the best way to go.

Did your lovely aunties give you any inspiration?

My real-life granny inspired Gangsta Granny, but my aunties have yet to inspire me to write anything about them.

This is the second time you’ve worked with Birmingham Stage Company. Why do you think the collaboration has been so successful?

I think I share a sense of humour with Neal Foster who runs BSC and has written both adaptations, so it has been very harmonious. Also the company are really successful, and have been making magnificent family shows for years, so I completely trust them.

How did you feel watching Gangsta Granny and seeing audience reactions?

You feel like a magician when as an author you see your book come to life. It’s a real thrill to hear audiences laughing, one that never leaves you even though I have been making comedy shows of my own for many years.

What did you like best about the show?

I think the heart of the story is intact, but there are lots of great new jokes too. The cast are fantastically talented and all work off each other brilliantly. I couldn’t be happier with it.

Eighteen months on, are you surprised at how successful Gangsta Granny has proved to be?

I feel it should now be on stage somewhere in the world until the end of time. Then I can retire! I am proud of the book, it seems to have really struck a chord with readers, so I am glad that more and more people can enjoy the story by seeing it on stage.

Bearing in mind the colourful array of characters in Awful Auntie, do you think there are any particular challenges in bringing it to the stage?

I think the world of ‘Awful Auntie’ is very heightened, for example Aunt Alberta has a henchman who is actually an owl. So I think capturing the tone of the book and still making it believable will be the biggest challenge. Also trying to balance the humour with the frightening moments is never easy, but I have every faith in the BSC.

How do you anticipate children will react differently to the stage show than reading the book?

When you read a book it’s normally on your own, whereas when you watch a stage show you share the experience with an audience. You are likely to laugh more in an audience, so hopefully the stage show will be a hoot.

Echo: Awful Auntie by David Walliams

What do you hope children will take away from seeing the production?

Stella is a pretty self-reliant heroine, and so I hope children will be inspired to find the strength within themselves to deal with bad situations. Also Stella is posh and even has the title ‘Lady’, but by the end of the story she realises none of that is important and that all people should be treated the same. I believe that too.

And what message is there for adults?

The message for adults is don’t lock your niece in a country house, or you may end up being killed by a giant snow-owl.

When there are so many technologies and activities vying for children’s attention, why do you think children will still pick up a good book?

I think books are so immersive that children do like being alone with them. I think we all have JK Rowling to thank for turning children onto books in their millions.

And what one thing would you still like to do but haven’t got round to yet?

I would like to meet and hopefully marry Rihanna.

Awful Auntie is on at the Cliffs Pavilion from Wednesday August 8 until Saturday August 11.

Visit southendtheatre.org.uk for booking and further details.