Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a musical staged by Southport Dramatic Club Youth at Southport Little Theatre, Hoghton Street, Southport on Wednesday, 20th August, 2025

‘Chitty’ was penned by Ian Fleming in 1964 and adapted and released in 1968 as a film with music and lyrics by the famous ‘Sherman Brothers’ … Robert B and Richard M… and gained immediate success. In 2002 ‘Chitty’ started its journey as a stage musical and ran at the London Palladium until 2005. Broadway then took over in 2005 and tours of UK, Australia and Singapore have followed. 

Production Team ... I’ve said this before and I’ll not doubt say again, we in District 6 are blessed with so many talented young actors! Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege and the pleasure to be invited to see so many youth productions and I’m convinced that standards are still rising! At times, I feel like a ‘Dad’ ... I’m so proud of each and every one of them that step on stage, I just love seeing young people do what they do, but, you can have as many talented young people as you like, if that ‘talent’ isn’t nurtured, if there aren’t ‘societies/teachers/directors/choreographers/musical directors’ willing and available to offer guidance and challenge these young people ... then so much of that talent may well just drift away and be lost. Leading this production and offering that guidance, we had the ever so experienced Paul Wilkinson (Director), Adam Dutch (Musical Director) and Pippa Morris (Choreographer) with Sue Bevan (Vocal Coach) and Ben Musa (Movement) assisting!  They all did an amazing job!  The casting was great
and I felt assured, as soon as those lights came up, that Paul’s vision had been realised from both the production and his young charges! Adam’s musical direction was, as always, wonderful, offering great support, introducing some great harmonies, whilst encouraging and supporting individual vocalists!  What can I say of ‘Pippa’s choreo’ ... honestly, it was a joy to behold. Fresh, imaginative movement that played to the strengths of everyone involved whilst allowing the individual to showcase their own talent. The choreo blended ever so well with the period and location. Please, please, please keep challenging, keep nurturing this young talent ... amateur theatre, youth theatre in District 6 really is in safe hands!

Cast ... an enthusiastic, well-rehearsed cast of twenty-five took to the Little Theatre stage and boy did they deliver!  Stirring up those memories from the original film we had Jack Smith taking the lead  ‘Caractacus’, Alfie Christian played ‘Jeremy’, Zoe Denton - ‘Jemima’, Nathanial Grills - ‘Grandpa’, Olivia Wiliams - ‘Truly’, Sophie Goulding - ‘Goran’, Darren Musa - ‘Boris’, Ellis Hayton playing the ‘Baron’ and a dancer, Carys Gauder - the ‘Baroness’, Dylan Bayliff the ‘Child Catcher’, Leo Rawsthorne took on three roles ‘Junkman’, ‘Chef’ & ‘Captain’, Oliver Dowd - ‘Coggins & Toymaker’.  The ENSEMBLE included Amaya Spencer - ‘Waitress & Susan’; Andrew Dunnett-Edge - ‘Sid & Soldier’, Dani Copie-Witterick - ‘Miss Phillips’, Eleanor Fyfe - ‘Toby’, Ewan Harris - ‘Lord Scrumptious & Soldier’, Grace Cunningham - ‘Violet & Marta’, Leyland Musa - ‘Stephen’. We also had a troupe of fabulous DANCERS that included Isabelle Culshaw, Jessie Jackson, Maisie Francis, Serafina Campolucci-Bordi, Scarlett Sinclair and Sophie Walker.  I think most will know by now this is where I put my ‘head on the block’ and start suggesting ‘favourites’ ... MY favourites, and as I always say, you’ll have your own ideas, these are MINE!  I had to think long and hard how best to announce these and I’ve came to the conclusion that ‘COUPLES’ were the way forward! Many of MY favourites were noticed when ‘two became one’ and I’d like to start with Jack & Olivia ... aka ‘Caractacus and Truly’.  Individually great, together amazing! Both are blessed with real stage presence; when they came together you could see/feel the chemistry develop as the show progressed. Two great voices... loved Jack’s rendition of ‘Hushabye Mountain’ ... but the ‘showstopping rendition’, for me and many others I would suggest, came when Olivia wowed us with ‘Lovely Lonely Man’ which brought the house down ... be ever so proud you two!  Second Couple... ‘Jeremy and Jemima’ played by Alfie & Zoe. So confident, wonderful diction, great characters created, be proud you two!  My third couple ... OMG these two were outrageous, but I just loved, loved, loved Ellis & Carys’s characterisation of the ‘Baron and Baroness’. Highlight, when they led the ‘Bombie Samba’, a song and dance routine which included a ‘dancing leap’ from Ellis that brought gasps from the entire audience... a routine that had everything and which also brought the house down.  Finally... gotta stop somewhere... our ‘Vulgarian Spy’s’... ‘Goran and Boris’ played by Sophie & Darren... a bumbling comedy duo performing at their best. These two worked ever so well together, loved their duet ‘Act English’...  and I’m gonna stick the old neck out even further and say that Sophie Goulding was MY ‘show stealer’!  Just loved everything she did, especially her facial expressions, her mannerisms, her overall character which was flawless in my opinion, honestly, she just made me laugh ... be proud Sophie! Alright, I said FINALLY... but I couldn’t move on without briefly mentioning these two... not a couple, but I thought Oliver & Nathaniel were ‘special’ ... why, because they worked their socks off, creating three great characters! Be proud everyone... as the song suggests ‘TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAMWORK’ you all contributed to make that statement reality!

Staging/Set/Tech... a simple set was used throughout which afforded the space, access and exit points that allowed this production to flow with ease.  The pride and joy for all to see was set aside for GEN11... the totally awesome car.  Looked amazing, used ever so well, rescued from the far reaches of Southern England and given an SDC makeover which not only enhanced and inspired the entire rehearsal process, but which looked fabulous during the actual performance! Lighting was excellent, again enhanced the production, but the Sound had issues from the very start. Some personal mikes were very slow to come on, some I didn’t think came on at all. This unfortunately did detract from the overall performance.

Orchestra... wonderful sound throughout, supporting, never overpowering the young actors. Led by the ever so experienced and talented Adam Dutch (MD/Conductor) On Reeds 1/2/3... we had Mel Waddington, Michael Walsh and Sarah Dutch respectively; Trumpet 1/2 Cliff Ray and Miranda Woodward, French Horn – Tom Edwards, Trombone – Paul Warder,  Keys – Cory Gerrard, Bass – Dan Rankin and Drums – Paul Dutch.

Costumes... were fabulous, enhanced the production and were ever so right for the period... under the watchful eye of Eve McNamara and Brendan Gillow.  Props ... excellent, again used well, were appropriate and of the era... supervised by Cath Dunne, Hannah Knowles and Paul Wilkinson.
 
Chaperones... whenever, wherever young people come together to perform, we must have ‘chaperones’, selfless people who stand together in an effort to provide a safe and secure environment which allows our young people to flourish... thanks to the SDC Safeguarding Team for your dedication and commitment!

Constructive Advice...  just a ‘wee bit’ of constructive advice - or things to work on! ‘Spoken Word’ - never forget that your audience needs to hear and understand everything you say! If you speak and the audience can’t hear or understand, then the storyline can and will get lost. ‘Diction’ for the most part was excellent... but there were occasions when the volume dropped/mikes didn’t function properly which made, what was being said, difficult and sometimes impossible to understand.
‘Accents’ - the use of 'accents' or a ‘slightly different voice’ is vital in theatre when creating a character. If you use them, it’s imperative that your audience still understands what you say, even if you’re taking on the smallest of roles!  If you use an accent, ensure it’s used throughout ... try and use it in any songs you sing, not always easy I know, but if you can achieve it - it really can/does enhance your performance! Hope I haven’t offended, never intended ... just things for us ALL to note and work on for the future! 

Thanks for the invite, my granddaughter and I thoroughly enjoyed the show, looking forward to seeing you all again soon.

Stay safe, Keep well
“Stronger Together”

Jim Briscoe ...
NODA NW District 6 Rep

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