Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Barnstaple Musical Comedy & Dramatic Society

CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG

As seen by: Mike Canning, NODA South West District 7 Representative on Friday 25th January, 2019

Director: Jake Goodenough

Musical Director: Paul Moulton

Choreographer: Lauren Tithecott

Queens Hall Theatre, Barnstaple

When you become a representative for one of the NODA regions it is a new experience to visit the theatres in our towns, cities, schools and village halls. Obviously, each society has its own challenges to face when staging a production with differing facilities being available and budgets possibly varying quite substantially. B M C & D S were fortunate to be able to get one of the few licences available to amateur groups to produce Chitty Chitty Bang Bang because of the possible BOX Office success achievable in a professional theatre environment and it was very pleasing to see that the group used this opportunity to maximum success. Not only did they manage to cover their costs, but also managed to perform to nearly full houses for the six performances they gave and each one I am sure was a delight for those who were able to purchase tickets.

This is the third production I have seen by this group and the standards reached new heights. The cast of 26 adults and 36 children were superbly put through their paces by Jake, Paul and Lauren. The children were split into two groups and at this performance it was the turn of ‘The Bangs’. I am sure ‘Team Chitty’ was just as effective but the children on the Friday were to be especially congratulated. It cannot be easy to be kept waiting two hours before making your first entrance but as soon as they did they brought total energy on to the stage, performed with smiles on their faces and their moves were all timed to perfection. Renie Crossland played the part of Jemima and Sonny Worsley the part of Jeremy. Both complimented each other so well and took to their lead roles very naturally. It was lovely to see Renie’s cheeky grin on her face throughout and she certainly shone through as one of the leading actors on the stage.

Of the 26 adults I believe 18 were making their first appearance in shows I have reviewed for this society showing what strength in depth there is within the group. For the second show in a row I have been greatly impressed by the choreography that Lauren gets into her chorus numbers especially and each of the choruses in this show was again up to the highest standard. It was also very pleasing to see her leading from the front. B M C & D S are not the only group with a possible shortage of men on stage and with only 7 men in the cast for this production it maybe did not give enough depth to the chorus singing but this is more than made up for with the visual side of the numbers being performed which were colourful and full of pace. Special mention must be made for the energy shown in ‘Me Ol’ Bamboo’ and ‘The Bombie Samba’. With the dancing so strong within the group it all augurs well for your May production of 42nd Street.

All the soloists rose to the challenge and gave inspired performances. Whether it was the slapstick humour between ‘the Buckingham Boys’ or the comedy between the Baron and Baroness or just the individuality of the others there was not a weak link. George Rawlinson as Potts wowed the audience with the tone of his voice and the warmth of the relationship he had with his two children and Truly. It was easy to hear every word he spoke and sang and he even showed he could move with great effect. As this character is a pivotal part of the whole production this was such a strong portrayal. Claire Ayres as Truly was sweetness personified. You could believe in the innocence of her character, her singing was enchanting and her movements on stage were so graceful. The comedy was so well played by Jordan Buckingham as Goran, Billy Buckingham as Boris, Neil Timothy as the Baron and Debbie Hadley as the Baroness. Timing is so important with comedy and all four are to be congratulated on how they mastered this and how they worked so successfully off each other. Both pairs had not only worked so hard on their duet ‘Act English’ and ‘Chu Chu Face’ but also on making sure they got the maximum out of every gag available. David Archer as Grandpa and Charlotte Cowley as the Toymaker also put in extremely confident performances with David putting over a great rendition of ‘Posh’ and Charlotte getting the most out of the comedy available to her. There were also cameo performances by Lynne Malone as the Childcatcher and Jeremy Gillbanks as Lord Scrumptious.

Paul Moulton, as Musical Director, had an orchestra of 11 musicians in the pit and apart from maybe overpowering the opening number worked them extremely well. He had got the best out of the soloists with diction and the interpretation of the musical numbers being top quality.

Obviously the society had spent the money to bring in the set and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the most important feature of the show. Even so it must have been pleasing to see that all went to plan as each of the different scenes dropped successfully into place and that the stunning spectacle of the car ‘taking off’ all went to order. All the other technical issues such as sound and lighting were well presented and once again the costumes were stunning.

Considering Jake Goodenough and the group were still working on ‘Sunset Boulevard’ at the beginning of November all are to be congratulated on achieving such an incredible performance in the time available. Jake has a good eye for detail as a Director and has a strong partner to work with in Lauren as his choreographer. The visual presentation is so pleasing to the eye for audiences and with the added addition of the technical extras for this show all left the theatre with a feeling that the entertainment offered had been very very good indeed.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.