Edinburgh’s longest running Musical theatre company, Southern Light Opera shine extra bright for this no-expenses-spared phantasmagorical production of the stage version of the much-loved 1969 MGM musical film. With one of the best special effects, I have ever seen on stage, this is one show you do not want to miss!
The original film and subsequent stage adaptation is loosely based on the children’s novel Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car by Ian Fleming (better known as the creator of James Bond) from 1964 and adapted for the silver screen by Roald Dahl.
The story follows recently widowed inventor Caractacus Potts and his two children and their love of an old ex-champion racing car, threatened with the scrap heap, but brought back to life (and then some!) by Potts. Chitty takes them on a madcap adventure which eventually lands them in Vulgaria, a fictional, cold European country run by infanta phobic Baron and Baroness Bomburst.
Rory MacLean is completely charming as Caractacus Potts, the lovely, lonely and slightly bonkers inventor and dad to Jeremy and Jemima. The scenes with talented youngsters Oliver Thomson and Martha Broderick are as touching as they are humorous and with great chemistry between the three. MacLean can certainly act and sing and even has a decent stab at dancing! He has a quiet fearlessness on stage which immediately relaxes the audience and makes the role of Caractacus his own, never lapsing into easy caricature of the classic Dick Van Dyke character. MacLean’s moving rendition of Hushabye Mountain was a highlight and so sensitively delivered and accompanied beautifully from the wings by the late Mrs. P, Anna Walton.
Playing a foil opposite MacLean, the delightful Tanya Williamson plays Truly Scrumptious with an initial nicely spikey confidence which creates a more three-dimensional love interest than might be expected. Williamson really shines in the second act, with a brilliant rendition of Doll On A Music Box, which is a tricky thing to pull off.
Keith Kilgore as Grandpa Potts is always entertaining and believable and helps to ground this production with real quality. It would be easy to overplay his character and over-sing his songs, but Kilgore keeps it real and instead lets the others around him shine.
If many of the principals are experts in under-acting, the villains of Vulgaria make up the balance with a huge dollop of over-acting. Chief amongst these, Peter Tomassi is an absolute hoot as the diminutive spy Goran alongside his towering accomplice Boris played by Padraic Hamrogue. Jokes and japes come thick and fast when the duo appear in various hilarious guises. Their song, Act English went down particularly well.
This is an excellent example that teamwork really does make the dream work, with great contributions from the whole of the production team. Special mention however should go to Tommie Travers, Musical Director, and the wonderful band under his baton, who played the long score quite beautifully. Likewise, the choreography by Louise Williamson is excellent and she puts the 100+ cast to full use to eat up the huge Festival Theatre stage. Big colourful numbers Toot Sweets, Me Ol’ Bamboo, and The Bombe Salsa, are all given the full Company treatment, which is a real spectacle.
Perhaps not as slick as the big touring shows, and with some obvious technical errors and line slips on the opening night, the heart and soul that drives this production easily makes up for these minor errors, which can be easily fixed.
With some nicely used back projection, loads of dry ice and clever lighting effects this show really does fly. And as my daughter left shaking her head in wonder and asking several times, ‘how did they do that!?’, I wasn’t about to explain. ‘Magic’, I told her. Because it was.
Running time – 2hrs 30 mins including 15min interval.
Playing until 20 May, https://www.capitaltheatres.com/whats-on
Reviewer: Greg Holstead
Reviewed: 16th May 2023
North West End UK Rating: