REVIEW: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Mayflower Theatre 

So what noise does that car make? ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ has flown into Southampton with its brand new musical production. This is a musical. That might sound like a blazingly obvious statement, but what I mean by that is that ‘Chitty’ is the exact image you see in your head when you think of the word ‘musical’. Not necessarily the car, but the high production values in set, effects, music; the list goes on. It’s textbook. I’m sure that the majority of people will be aware of the story of ‘Chitty’ from Dick Van Dyke’s 1968 film of the same name. If you don’t know the story, you more than definitely have either seen the iconic car or heard the iconic song (yep, the one that gets stuck in your head for days on end). This musical adaptation follows the same story but it feels so much more exciting. Director, Thom Southerland, has nailed bringing this family classic to life – by making it for the whole family but not in a cheesy way.

It could have been very easy to slip into the panto-type vibe with this adaptation. There were still times when it felt panto-esc but that didn’t make it feel cheap or any less impressive. The dialogue is clearly meant for both an adult audience and family audience. It’s littered with innuendos and ‘adult jokes’, and it’s just brilliant. There were actually moments where I was thinking, is this too far for an audience with children? But I don’t think it was. They were on a tightrope with it, but I think that’s what made it so great. Compared to other recent classic movie adaptations, it would have also been extremely easy for them to strip the production value right back to a smaller set, and rely heavily on the use of projections/screens. ‘Chitty’ demonstrated that classic is still the best. Thinking back, I don’t think there were any projections or screens really, just real set pieces and physical effects. You can’t go wrong, and they certainly didn’t.

Seriously impressive, it’s like real magic on stage.

The cast was also what you’d expect from a big musical; grand and extremely energetic. Heading the cast as ‘Caracticus Potts’ was the brilliant Adam Garcia. Dick Van Dyke eat your heart out because I think ‘Caracticus’ now belongs to Adam. The singing was truly scrumptious (yes I went there), and his dance and comedic timing was also fantastic. In fact the whole cast’s comedic timing and liveliness was spot on. The children in the cast also need a special shoutout because they were all incredibly professional and super talented. Having said this however, for me the show was stolen by four cast members in particular. Martin Callaghan and Jenny Gayner as the ‘Baron & Baroness’ were flawless. They were stupidly funny, and the fourth wall breaks and innuendos were amazing. Likewise, Adam Stafford and Michael Joseph as ‘Boris & Goran’ were exactly the same. Funny doesn’t begin to scratch the surface. 

Now for the set. All I can say is thank you and well done. I’m so glad that what we got was real pieces of set and an actual flying car! (Well if you didn’t know that ‘Chitty’ was a flying car by now). I mean just imagine if they’d gotten rid of the car and rather opted for a projection instead… 

Seeing all of Caractacus Potts’ inventions actually as inventions to seeing a small remote controlled version of Chitty or a real child catcher trap – the whole thing was very impressive. The lighting was also fantastic. It matched every scene perfectly, and I always like when the light helps tell the story. This again is what happens here. The attention to detail was great and I think everything to do with the design was perfect. Bravo!

Of course we can’t do a review of a musical about a flying car, without mentioning the proverbial elephant in the room. Yes a full sized ‘Chitty’ actually did both inflate and fly on stage. And yes it was also breathtaking. It’s the moment the whole audience is waiting for, and it doesn’t disappoint. With things like this, I always try and look into how it is being done and I was fooled for a while. When the car eventually did a full 360, that’s when I was blown away. Seriously impressive, it’s like real magic on stage. In the interval, I know myself and a few others were thinking, “is it going to fly out into the audience?” Unfortunately it doesn’t (spoilers again apologies), but that doesn’t take away from just how nuts it is seeing a funny looking car full of people flying on stage.

This is a true feel-good musical that is meant for the whole family.

The music was again what you’d expect from a major musical. By now we know that I love live music, and tonights live orchestra was outstanding. They played all the famous songs that we know and love: ‘Hushabye Mountain’, ‘Me Ol’ Bamboo’, and of course ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’. As well as just playing the songs, the almost played a full score for pretty much all of the dialogue throughout the night as well. I know I’ll be going to sleep for the next few nights with that title song stuck in my head! 

Overall, as of recent, classic film to theatre adaptations have been (dare I say) lacklustre. So understandably, I was a little bit worried coming into this one. I cannot tell you how happy I am to say that I was worried about nothing. To me it just proves the saying, “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” Production was clearly at the top of the priorities list for this show, and you can definitely see that. I do also love how the show didn’t feel dated. It’s based on a story from 1968, that has certain themes that were also okay in 1968. The comedy used to get around this was faultless. ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ is a true feel-good musical that is meant for the whole family. If you were looking to take a flight with ‘Chitty’, they’re at Mayflower Theatre until May 12th before continuing on their UK Tour. I wish the whole cast, crew, and company the best of luck and success going forward.