Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang isn’t often seen on the amateur theatre circuit so it was a delight to watch PMOS perform this magical show as their comeback production in their home theatre of the King's Glasgow.  The production team of Alasdair, James and Lisa should be commended for creating a fabulous show full of energy, humour, and warmth.  From the second James and his impressive orchestra started to play the overture, the audience was singing along to the well known tunes.  This continued throughout the show as the audience stayed engaged with every dance number, song and all the characters they encountered throughout the evening.  The story following Caractacus, Jeremy and Jemima Potts and Grandpa Potts as they undertake the restoration of an old race car and then embark on a magical adventure was a little different from the 1968 film but was just, if not more enjoyable.

Playing the leading part of Caractacus was Antony Carter who showed his versatile performance with confident dancing, singing and character acting in a role full of warmth.  This was showcased as he moved from a sensitive father singing “Hushabye Mountain”, to energetic dancing in “Me Ol’ Bamboo” and finally the comedic acting as the rag doll in Doll On A Music Box.  His relationship and scenes with Augustus Sweeny and Ava Hurley (the Potts children Jeremy and Jemima) were lovely and very sweet.  Augustus and Ava were consistently great throughout as the Potts children.  Their clear diction during the dialogue (with an impressive number of lines to learn), sweet singing and confident stage presence was fab to see and I am sure that Noah McSkimming and Lily Wedlock who are playing the roles on the alternate nights would have been equally as brilliant.

Bringing humour to the Potts family was Grandpa Potts played by the dynamic Jonathan Proctor.  With the accent and movement reminiscent of the loved character in the film, he had the audience hanging on his every word and gave a very powerful performance throughout … maybe one day he will get to India!! 

Playing opposite Caractacus, and the Potts children off course, was the enchanting Zoe Tennant Truly Scrumptious.  With a crisp, clear accent and charming characterisation Zoe gave Truly a lovely warmth adding in her own signature comedy moments which just created the most enchanting character.  Her solo ‘Lovely, Lonely Man’ was gorgeous and her characterisation as the doll on the music box, just perfection!  A superb performance throughout.

This show is full of comedy and this was exemplified by the powerhouse duo of J. Campbell Kerr as Baron Bomburst and Aileen Johnston as Baroness Bomburst.  Laugh out moments galore in all their scenes generated from their accents, physicality, and chemistry.  Their fabulous song “Chu-Chi Face” was a cherry on top of a genius performance … I also can’t stop hearing Campbell saying “My Party”!!  More comedy was created by another excellent pairing of Ryan Wink as Goran (Gordon) and Stephen Rattigan as Boris (Doris).  Ryan and Stephen worked so well together and handle their interaction with the audience superbly well.  Their rapport and line delivery, especially the inuendo lines, was perfect.  Although the show has a lot of happiness, bringing the scare factor to the story was Iain G. Condie as the iconic Childcatcher.  Iain’s unnerving physicality and characterisation was flawless and I am not ashamed to say that as a near 40 year old, I was still feeling as frightened during his scenes as I did while watching the film as a kid.

All the smaller roles that appeared as the story developed were played so well by a very talented ensemble, with key moments featuring Laura Shields-Wulff as Miss Philips, Robert Fyfe as The Toymaker, Robert Sharp as Lord Scrumptious and Russell Martin as Mr Coggins.

Stand out moments for sure were the larger ensemble numbers; Toot Sweets, Me Ol’ Bamboo and The Bombie Samba.  These scenes and all the others to be honest were enhanced by the beautiful costumes and an amazing, colourful set which created a stunning visual feast.

Another star of the show, which I obviously could not forget, was the title character Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  The gasps of excitement when the curtain lifted to reveal the car for the first time was magical and the sheer size of this piece of set was impressive.  Impressively sized set pieces was a theme for the show and massive congrats and huge recognition should be given to the Stage Crew who must be working exceptionally hard behind the scenes to make this show come to life.  The quick turnarounds to get the car in place for the flying moment were impressive and I’m sure not easy. 

An excellent production for all the cast, crew, Committee and club to be proud of.

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