A fabulous night of flawless dancing and flying cars. You won’t want to miss it
The cast of ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ UK tour are performing at the New Theatre Oxford from the 2nd – 6th of October. I was lucky enough to be invited along to the Press Night and what a show it was! Huge ensemble numbers, fabulous costumes and brilliant comedic timing. The show tells the story of Caractacus Potts, an inventor, who is forced to raise money to afford to make his inventions such as “Toot Sweets” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. It all takes a turn when the Vulgarians try to steal Chitty and the Child Catcher tries to capture Caractacus Pott’s children, Jeremy and Jemima. Will Chitty Chitty Bang Bang be able to save them? I loved this show, it was so bright and fun with lots of memorable tunes and a fantastic audience to accompany it.
“Toot Sweets” was the first large ensemble number with complex dancing it was flawless and the main ensemble partner work was inspiring to watch. The costumes were pink and white and the lights matched the colour of the costumes which worked really effectively and created a really immersive experience. Lots of the songs in the show were very uplifting and joyful but ‘Hushabye Mountain’ was a beautiful contrast to the rest of the numbers. It was soft and sung by Callum Train who played Caractacus Potts. His vibrato was clean and his tone work well with the song.
Charlie McGuire and Isabella Manning who played Jeremy and Jemima Potts were extremely talented and both have bright futures ahead of them. Their acting was truthful and they were a force to be reckoned with as a duo. They conveyed such a strong, lovable sibling bond which was lovely to watch and at song a young age they had powerful voices that commanded the stage completely. The set changes were smooth and incredibly clever, as the set was simple and consisted of boxes that moved around the stage to create different locations. The car was such a mesmerizing thing to watch, I was baffled by how they could make it fly on stage. The backstage team for costumes, set, props and lighting outdid themselves in so many amazing ways. It really created a spectacle.
The children’s chorus were brilliant and ‘Teamwork’ was such a heartwarming song filled with so much power and enthusiasm by the kids. Their voices worked so well together and had obviously worked extremely hard on their performances ready for the show as there was no faults.
Overall, this show was a really lovely show aimed at a younger audience. The quality wasn’t any less because of it and it was still was an insanely talented cast. I had a fabulous night watching flawless dancers and flying cars.