Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

As always with a Spot On Productions show, the air of anticipation as you enter the foyer is palpable and my partner and I were warmly greeted by Richard and Sally Hughes, in charge of Front of House. We were presented with our programmes, bought our raffle tickets and went to our seats in a sold-out auditorium.

The lights dimmed and we were met with a black and white (old style 1920's Pathe newsreels) of Chitty's early racing pedigree. The stage was set. The fourteen piece orchestra made a teriffic sound, ably led by Martin Bennetts, and set off at quite a pace, nothing dragged and all in tune and time.

The set was a colourful, wide set full of light and stood out well. It appeared to be a full-on complicated set, but the whole backstage crew led by Stage Manager Pete Tonks and his team, had the scene changes so well rehearsed and slick, you didn't notice. Blackout was kept to an absolute minimum.

The whole of the staging was superbly enhanced by the most fantastic array of colourful costumes, in keeping with the representation of the piece, and so many of them! I can only begin to imagaine the hours and hours, and probably very many late nights, that Mandy Harrison and her team had put in. It was time very, very well spent.

The choreography, led by Abbie Jennings was astonishingly so good, you would be forgiven for not thinking that you were in the West End! "Toot Sweets", "Me 'Ol Bamboo", "The Bombi Samba" (and all the rest, too many to mention!) were of such high quality, and very demanding in places of a very well drilled cast who were obviously loving every minute, this was clear by their whole demeanour, facial expressions and just wonderful smiles. 

The staging and costumes were very well backed up by good sound and inventive lighting, it really brought everything together and the diction was of such clarity, not just from the principals but by the chorus as well. Nothing was lost and the story (although very well known) was very easy to follow.

The principal line up of Adam Rush as Caractacus Potts, Rebecca Woodhead as Truly worked very well together with (the red team) of Laila-Rose Berry and Logan Marshal as Jemima and Jeremy great interaction, and again brilliantly clear diction, especially from the youngsters, no nerves at all! They were all very well backed up by a very comical Mark Ponsford as Grandpa Potts, Josh McDonald and Stuart Golding as the comedy baddie duo of Boris and Goran along with John Abraham as the Childcatcher (scary and didn't we boo!) and Mick Attwood as the toymaker.

Make no bones about it, this was as close to any professional show that you may pay hundreds pf pounds to see at the national theatres across the UK. This is testament to their Director Alick Leech. The show was inventive, so so well rehearsed and professional. All the members of the principals, cast, backstage crew and orchestra knew exactly what they were to do and delivered. Spot On Productions are a fantastic example of what you can achieve at this level. Bravo guys, Bravo. 11/10! 

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