Mary Poppins – Festival Theatre

In P.L. Travers’s book, ‘tossed and bent under the wind’, Mary is thrown ‘bag and all, at the front door’ by an east wind, at which ‘the whole house shook’. Here (as in the film), despite the proximity of Storm Eowyn, her arrival and appearance are ‘practically perfect’*, all spit-spot and efficiency. Which pretty much describes this abundant sweetshop of a production; it dazzled, shone, all slick, gloss and polish, which, given its producers (the hyper-successful Cameron Mackintosh and Disney Theatrical Group), was not surprising. Which can be an issue with these huge shows where the creative team includes no less than two responsible for ‘set design adaptation’ and two whose remit is ‘illusions’.

Technically, everything (and the kitchen sink) is thrown in, from small prop details like the toxic green glow of (Nanny) Holy Terror’s Brimstone & Treacle to Bert’s dynamic Bono-esque stravaig up the walls and upside-down across the ceiling to Mary’s final disappearance over the audience and into the rafters. But this did have a few unexpected turns up its sleeve to leaven the saccharine. The menacing appearance of a Pennywise-style clown during the rendition of one of the new(-er) songs ‘Playing The Game’* provided a thoughtful jolt and towards the end as Mary leaves the Banks household for the second (and final) time there’s more than a hint that something deep within is missing from Mary’s world, something that prevents her from pursuing any of the (perfectly-judged) frissons between her and Bert.

The author herself pursued a ruthless, practical approach to life and once said that anyone looking for autobiographical facts should consider ‘Mary Poppins… the story of my life.’ This theatrical version is 21 years old this year, opening in Bristol in November 2004, a tragedy being the author never lived to see it; it’s well documented she wasn’t the biggest fan of the 1964 film. It contains new songs (*courtesy of George Stiles & Anthony Drewe) that propel the story, has been incredibly successful and it isn’t difficult to see why.

The choreography is excellent, the orchestra note-perfect and the acting top class. Most memorable were Michael D Xavier’s Mr Banks, halfway between John Cleese and Morrissey, and the kids – Oscar McCulloch (Michael) & Olaya Martinez-Cambon (Jane) – are more than alright. Which takes some doing performing alongside such stellar talents as Stefanie Jones (Mary) and Jack Chambers (Bert). Consisting of many -unobtrusive – moving parts, the set(s), scenes and costumes are colourful and striking, some of the silhouettes across London particularly effective.

The lasting impression though is of a spectacle rather than a show, a fast-paced, dizzying one to boot. This being a matinee, it’s to be admired that they were going to do it all again a few hours later.

Until February 15^th at Edinburgh Festival Theatre https://www.capitaltheatres.com

Reviewer: Roger Jacobs

Reviewed: 25th January 2025

North West End UK Rating: