THE first ever stage adaptation of Grandpa’s Great Escape, the number one bestselling children’s book by actor and comedian David Walliams, is coming the North-East in the New Year.

The live version of the kids’ favourite, which has sold more than two million copies around the world arrives in Newcastle at Utilita Arena for two performances on Thursday, January 2, 2020.

Grandpa’s Great Escape Live follows the acclaimed television film which aired on BBC One in December.

Walliams says: “Grandpa’s Great Escape Live is an incredible new development for the book.

"We’re not just turning it into a live show, but into a spectacular live arena show for all the family this Christmas.

"Being in arenas means we can have a life-size Spitfire, a tank, the London landscape and a dramatic escape from the Imperial War Museum.

"It’s great because we can really go to town with all of those elements and this story demands that scale.

"I’m delighted to be involved with this arena tour of Grandpa’s Great Escape Live, working with fantastic people like the director Sean Foley and Kevin Cecil, who’s written the script. I couldn’t be more excited about it!”

The stage design for Grandpa’s Great Escape Live will see the arena transformed into London and its landmarks, including Buckingham Palace and the River Thames, from thousands of feet in the sky, as Grandpa’s life-size Spitfire soars through the air. Grandpa’s Great Escape, which has been translated into 39 languages, received a wealth of glowing reviews with the Evening Standard declaring Walliams as “the new Roald Dahl”, while The Times describe the story as “a beguilingly funny, original and thought-provoking tale… hilarious”.

The story focuses on Grandpa, who many years ago, was a Second World War flying ace. But when he is sent to old folk’s home Twilight Towers – run by sinister Matron Swine – it’s up to Grandpa and his grandson, Jack, to plot a daring escape. Little do they know, the wicked matron is on to them.

  • Tickets are on sale now and are available online, or by calling the Box Office on 0844 493 6666. Venue facility and booking fees will apply.