Michael Joseph Archives - North West End UK

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – Blackpool Opera House

12Dec

By Paddy Darnell-WalshNo Comments

North West

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – Blackpool Opera House

The much-loved family favourite, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, flies into Blackpool this week for an extended run over the festive period. Adapted from Ian Flemming’s story, with music and lyrics from the Sherman Brothers (Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks), the story follows widowed inventor Caractacus Potts and his two children, Jemima and Jeremy, as Potts restores an old car, discovering it has magical powers. Once described as ‘James Bond for children’, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang boasts many similarities to Flemming’s more famous works, from evil villains to impressive gizmos and gadgets, incompetent spies to a farfetched story line and of course, a wonderful car. Add these elements to a truly toe-tapping score and you realise why this production has stood the test of time. I was...

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – Hull New Theatre

The cheering and clapping started even before curtain up, at the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday evening, as the audience in the packed venue instantly reacted to the very recognisable melody being played by the in-house orchestra. As the strains of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang rang out, the anticipation built to fever-pitch and, a few minutes after 7pm, the curtain rose on a night of rip-roaring fun. The much-loved family favourite (an Ian Fleming story for children, later made into a film in 1968) tells the tale of an absent-minded inventor, Caractacus Potts, who, urged on by his two young children, restores an old racing car - only to discover the machine has a magical mind of its own. Potts (Adam Garcia), a single parent to Jemima (Isla Ithier) and Jeremy (Charlie McGuire), has very li...

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – New Wimbledon Theatre

The show opened in a blast of action, the headlights of racing cars zooming along, celebrating winners and fearing the losers, moving swiftly to a scene of an old disused car abandoned in Coggins yard. The children, Jemima played by Gracie Cochrane and Jeremy, Roshan Thomson were true to the likeness of the original children in Flemings’ book and it was not long before Truly Scrumptious played by Ellie Nunn and Caractacus Potts Adam Garcia appeared, to the delight of the audience. The puppeteers controlled the dogs seamlessly and interacted well with the actors providing an air of artistic flare, especially during the scenes of mayhem in Lord Scrumptious sweet factory. Grandpa Potts played by Liam Fox together with Ellie and Adam’s performances were true to the original screenplay cast whi...