Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Junior at Theatre Royal, produced by Nelson Youth Theatre Company. Reviewed by K O’Connor.
It was a delight to take my children to the matinee session of this well loved classic.
The story centers around a former race car, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Pots family who salvage the car from destruction and then use the car to go on a magical adventure to save their Grandpa (Eloise Hall).
We are cleverly taken from a garage in England to the palace in Bulgaria with the amazing car, made from recycled materials by Chris Gladstone, mesmerizing the audience all the way.
A magical performance by Mr Pots (Jack Hall) with an outstanding singing voice and brilliant acting, led the entire cast to shine throughout the show.
Truly Scrumptious (Hannah Astridge) was truly showing stopping throughout and in particular during her doll dance song which held the audience captivated.
Strange accents and hilarious acting brought us the Baron and Baroness (Neo Gunn-Stringer and Casey Jenkinson), with their buoyant singing livening up the show. A few technical glitches in the sound were soon forgotten by the humorous timing of the spies (Madeline Bethwaite and Ethan Cockerell) and the wise help of the toy maker (Rosie Davis).
The younger cast of the show held their own with Jemima (Evie Dykzeul) and Jeremy (Elizabeth Lockwood) radiating youthful enthusiasm throughout the show. Once in Bulgaria we met with the children lead by Toby (Oscar Bethwaite), Martha (Charlotte Hall) and Greta (Georgia Astridge) who won the audience over with their energetic singing and fighting talk whilst being chased by the evil Child Catcher (Evelyn McPherson).
Team work made the dream work for this musical. Don’t miss out and go catch the Nelson Youth Theatre’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. On this week 2pm each day until Saturday at the Theatre Royal.
Reviewed by Katrina O'Connor
