3:50pm Friday 20th August 2010
By Louise Ramsay
Anxiously sandwiched between my bad-tempered partner, who had problems parking the car, and my fidgety six-year-old son, I really needed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to deliver on Thursday.
As my son has already informed me cars can’t fly, I wasn’t optimistic. But as soon as the orchestra struck up, he spontaneously clapped along and was gripped for the rest of the afternoon.
The simply-told tale of goodies versus baddies, the heady mix of candy-striped romance, sparkling musical routines and pantomime know-how is peppered with explosions aplenty, hordes of ragamuffin children and even gangs of roving dogs.
Avoiding sentimentality by refusing to dwell on the obvious, the story motors along with a life-affirming joy de vivre, all pulled together by truly scrumptious performances.
Darren Bennett stands out as Caractacus Potts, and Edward Peel and Kim Ismay are hilarious as the terrible Vulgarians, but the star of the show of course is the car. Reportedly costing £750,000 to make, it’s a clue to how much money has gone into this production overall, and it’s money really well spent.
Quite how the car glides above the stage and appears to drive over it without really moving is unfathomable.
My son was equally flummoxed and decided, against his better judgement, that it must be magic, which it is – a glorious and spectacular theatrical magic, which at peak moments moved my partner and I to tears.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, we love you!
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