Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

I’m sure most people are familiar with the story of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  It is after all, a classic and it was very much part of my childhood.  The musical version is no different.  It has a light-hearted first act and a slightly somewhat darker second act.

This was an outstanding production from start to finish – with the most professional set and excellent costumes and, of course, the real flying car!  The first glimpse of the car literally had the audience gasping with delight!

Alex Wright as Caractacus Potts delivered this extremely demanding song and dance role with ease.  He  has excellent diction and stage presence. His rapport with Jemima and Jeremy was beautifully heartwarming and the chemistry between him and Emily as Truly Scrumptious, was electric at times.  He danced with ease, and he reduced me to tears in “Hushaby Mountain” – it was so beautiful Alex.  Many congratulations - an outstanding performance throughout.

Emily Brook as Truly Scrumptious was perfect for this role – she looked gorgeous in every single scene, with stunning vocals – and as I’ve mentioned before, the chemistry between Truly and Caractacus was simply beautiful.  She also had such a lovely rapport with Jemima and Jeremy.

Joseph Taylor and Kitty Moore played the roles of Jeremy and Jemima respectively.  Their dialogue and singing was impeccable – both have excellent stage presence for such young performers, and both also have such clarity of diction.  It was hard to believe that this is Josephs first ever musical performance, and Kitty’s first ever acting role.  These two youngsters are ones to watch out for in the future!  Keep on following your dreams kids!

Mike Riley gave a fabulous portrayal of the loveable Grandpa Potts.  He had such a great rapport with the rest of the Potts family…not forgetting the fabulous Eddison the dog (and his excellent dog handler Harry Hodge!)

George Scaife played Baron Bomburst and Lord Scrumptious. Both characters were played to absolute perfection.  Just the right amount of comedy, and the pairing with Ruby Hendry as his long-suffering wife, Baroness Bomburst (and she also played Miss Phillips) was absolutely perfect.

Sophie Houldsworth and George Mitchell as Goran and Boris (the spies) were hilarious throughout.  They had perfect comedy timing and had the audience in stitches.

Katherine Griffiths was fabulous as the toymaker – a confident performance with great vocals and characterisation.

Alex Bower was excellent as the Child Catcher.  Truly sinister in every way – I think its safe to say he got his character ‘spot on’ when I caught sight of a child sitting in front of me hiding under a coat every time he came on stage!

Laura Williams’ choreography (brilliantly assisted by Bea Whiteley), was brought to life by the well drilled cast.  It was energetic, inventive and eye catching, and included so much variety of style. 

The Bouncing Bombie band, under the baton of Phil Walsh, was superb and delivered the excellent score with ease.

This was an outstanding production from start to finish and every single person involved should be proud. 

As the song goes “Teamwork can make the dream work” and a production like this does not happen without a massive team behind it and surrounding it.

John Trenouth expertly provided well-balanced sound in Ilkley’s Kings Hall, with brilliant sound effects. 

The lighting design by Joe Howarth was impressive too – these included some fabulous ‘mood’ changes which added great effect throughout the production.

The scene changes were extremely slick throughout – Craig Whiteley and Darren Blackwell (stage managers) and the stage crew worked extremely hard through to ensure continuity.  It must be a technical nightmare to get “Chitty” on and off stage or repositioned on stage – but you carried it off (probably literally!!!)  Huge congratulations to you all!

I loved the clever use of video projections, which enhanced the storyline to great effect. 

This really was a fantasmigorical and truly scrumptious show!  Thank you for giving us such a wonderful production – simply outstanding in every way!

 

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