This truly scrumptious musical production of Ian Fleming’s beloved children story certainly is a feast for the eyes and boasts some wonderful magical moments too – perhaps the ghost of ‘The Great Lafayette’ is still working his tricks at the venue?

Bang on time to tie in with Brexit, this ‘English as English can get’ tale offers a magnitude of delights for young and old and it’s no different with this West Yorkshire Playhouse Production. All the characters of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang come triumphantly to life on stage, lead by inspired lead performances by the multi-talented Jason Manford as inventor ‘Caractacus Potts’ and Charlotte Wakefield as ‘Truly Scrumptious’, while the Potts children ‘Jemima’ and ‘Jeremy’ (on this occasion played by Hayden Goldberg and Caitlin Surtees) round up the happy family portrait.
At the other end of the spectrum are Jos Vantyler’s darkly gothic ‘Childcatcher’ who creates havoc with his suitably sinister laughter, and TV-personalities Claire Sweeney and Phil Jupitus as children-hating ‘Baroness and Baron Bomburst’ from the Eastern fascist state of Vulgaria.
Manford clearly has the stand-out voice though Wakefield and Sweeney are not far behind – that said, during the duets between Sweeney and Jupitus the pair talk in a Vulgarian accent (a quirky hybrid of German and East-European) but once the singing starts the accents seemingly go down the drain, which is a shame. Sam Harrison and Scott Paige have plenty of fun (with some added contemporary jokes and puns) as Vulgarian spies ‘Boris’ and ‘Goran’, while Ewen Cummins as the ‘Garage-man and the Toymaker’ and Andy Hockley as ‘Grandpa Potts’ add to the overall delightful vibe.

The true star of the show is of course the vintage racing car Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and - low and behold - it is a car which not only floats above water but can actually fly. Yes, Ian Fleming always had a penchant for cars equipped with all sorts of gadgets, as the numerous James Bond flicks prove! The car does something very similar on stage, and while the ‘floating in the foggy sea’ sequence is achieved via mighty screen trickery, the vehicle actually does take off and goes up into the air. Well, sort of… and no wires etc. can be seen. Fantastic! Simon Wainwright’s on-screen video graphics are superb and suggest all sorts of landscapes and sceneries, , while Simon Higlett’s stage design is a cabinet of wonders full of gigantic cogs and various other intriguing machinery and props, really quite steampunk-inspired at times!
The songs and dance numbers are full of humour, romance and occasionally also sentiment and are vividly performed by the main cast and the ensemble. One of the undisputed highlights is the playful ‘Doll on a Music Box’ number by Caractacus Potts and Truly Scrumptious, while the fiery and exotic ‘Bombie Samba’ dance number (lead by Baroness Bomburst) almost transports the viewer into a different musical altogether. Great fun!

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