Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang Still Flying High

Earworm tunes, the magic of flying cars, a superb cast and just a brilliant night out according to Julia Pattison and her granddaughter.

My four-year-old granddaughter was my very special plus-one for the opening night of York Stage’s eagerly anticipated, fantasmagorical musical by the Sherman brothers, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; her first time accompanying me to a stage musical. We are both big fans of the 1968 film, and we were excited at the prospect of seeing Chitty fly over the Grand Opera House stage. She was fascinated too, before the show began, to see the vast array of instruments and the live band assembling, led by Musical Director Adam Tomlinson.

Producer-director Nik Briggs has a knack of selecting fabulous versions of musicals then applying his own Midas touch to them, handpicking the perfect creative team and cast. This Jeremy Sams’ version of the musical is another gem selected by him and features the Baron and Baroness and the two spies a lot more than in the film, to great comic effect.

I was expecting this musical to be brilliant, but it exceeded my expectations; adapted from James Bond novelist Ian Fleming’s story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The magical car, we were told the tale of wacky inventor Caractacus Potts, his two children and the delightful Truly Scrumptious, and how they outwitted Baron Bomburst and the evil Childcatcher (spoiler alert!); my granddaughter and I both loved every zany minute!

You really could let your imagination fly along with Caractacus (Ned Sprouston) and his children, Jeremy (Logan Wilstrop) and Jemima (Hope Day). Stunning set, sound and light design, amazing costumes choreography and energetic cast, along with fabulous hair and make-up, marvellous music and of course flying cars and sheds (Blue Chilli and Harlequin all made this production a kaleidoscope of magic to experience.

Jack Hooper (playing Boris) and James Robert Ball (playing Goran) almost stole the show as bungling booby Vulgarian spies whose mission was to retrieve Chitty from England. Their duet Act English was hilarious, and the highlight of their ‘Allo ‘Allo‘ style of playing their characters, which had us all laughing out loud throughout the show.

Equally funny were the Baron and Baroness, brilliantly portrayed by Alex Papachristou and Jackie Cox; their Chu-Chi Face duet Musical Number had my granddaughter in fits of giggles, yet there was plenty of saucy innuendo that went over the heads of the young audience and had the adults chuckling too!

The chemistry between Carly Morton playing Truly, and Ned Sprouston playing Caractacus was plain to see, with heartfelt and sincere performances from both of them, and crystal-clear singing.

A warm relationship too was established between Caractacus and Grandpa (delightfully portrayed by Mick Liversidge), both doing their best to make up for the loss of Jeremy and Jemima’s mother.

Logan and Hope were outstanding in their roles of Jeremy and Jemima; Posh and Truly Scrumptious were just two highlights of their convincing and sincere performances and wonderful singing.

Carly Morton was Truly Scrumptious in her role and came into her own in the iconic Doll on a Music Box number – truly magical.

We all loved to boo the evil Childcatcher, as he made his dramatic entrances, portrayed superbly by Richard Barker- respect too for being able to strut about so confidently in those very high heels!

From the delicious Toot Sweets and the energetic Me Ol’Bamboo, to The Bombi Samba, The Roses of Success, and of course, the unforgettable Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, this was a feast of flying and frantic fun from beginning to end. The flying scenes featuring Chitty were awe-inspiring.

Filing out of the theatre after the show my granddaughter and I were singing the title song together (along with many other happy members of the audience) as we went down the stairs, having been fully immersed in a fabulous fantasy world.

Quality live theatre at its best.