Review: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Oxford Playhouse)
- Admin
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is currently showing at Oxford Playhouse, and as it’s a musical I was keen to go and see it. A Musical Youth Company of Oxford production, this was timed perfectly for the start of the Easter holiday, and the opening night looked as if it was sold out.
I’m sure I must have watched the film this musical was based on in the past, but the story all felt quite vague in my memory, apart from the fact there was a pretty special car in it. Indeed there was, with Chitty not only appearing on stage but also being shown to be able to float and move on water, and fly. The magic of theatre was well and truly present on that stage, and not only with regards to the car.
Aside from the car itself, the props were used sparingly but to great effect. Mr Pott’s inventions were eye catching, an airship was fantastic, and the videography used to show the area each scene was set in was superb, not only just visually but this also spared the stage space for the large cast rather than unnecessary extra pieces of set.
The casting was very well done, with Giacomo Ruffmann excelling as Caractacus Potts, his acting and vocals were confident and accomplished, and the interactions of this character with his children, Jemima and Jeremy (Ella-May Higgins and Edmund Fitter) were convincing. Ozzy Phelan was also superb as Grandpa Potts. These three generations were portrayed beautifully, and the strength of the actors’ performances combined with the direction by Julie Todds has created something really special here, considering the performers are so close in age in reality.
Dolly Ogier’s Truly Scrumptious was also convincing, I particularly enjoyed the song of the same name as hers; the performances and the way the cast members evoked the meaning of the song were so moving. But in the second half, during Doll on a Music Box, Dolly Ogier’s vocals and movements were exceptional. This song gave me goosebumps.
Boris and Goran (Jasper Carter and Elsie Talbut) were brilliant together, these characters raising several laughs. Caleb Gill was a great villain as the Child Catcher, even with limited stage time, creating quite an impact. The empathetic Toymaker (Isabella Aravejo) was a pleasing ally for the children we, as an audience, were rooting for.
The Baron (Maxime Abecassis-Loyer) and Baroness (Ava Lea-James) performed beautifully as the couple who run Vulgaria with its strict rules and systems. Their team of inventors were also superb, giving some other members of the cast a chance to shine. It’s amazing how many stunning voices were allowed to showcase themselves even at times if it was just with a line or two.
The choreography by Cate Marie Simpson was breathtaking. Often when you have an enormous cast there can be a disconnect for some ensemble members… however in this show the way they danced, especially in Toot Sweets and The Bombie Samba was beautifully in sync. The fairground scene, incorporating Me Ol’ Bamboo was similarly well performed. The inventor’s automatic haircutting machine was a great addition for an injection of humour.
In summary, this was a stunning musical which has clearly been worked on for a long time. Every member of the cast made their time on stage count, and the lighting design (Will Hayman) was also perfect for each scene of the show. I particularly liked the deep colours which worked well with the action on stage.
When I got home I read about the Musical Youth Company of Oxford, and realised to my absolute astonishment that the cast were all between the ages of 12 and 19. This was a total “are you joking” moment for me. I should say we were in row Q so looking from a distance – which actually worked well for seeing the full stage for this particular show, but my friend and I had discussed the cast were likely to be up to the age of 25 or thereabouts. This made the show feel even more impressive, especially considering the portrayal of older adults was so convincing.
I will look forward to the next opportunity to see MYCO on stage again. This was a fantastic production, and I would not be surprised if some members of this cast end up performing in the West End.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is showing at Oxford Playhouse until 4 April.
I was gifted tickets for this show in exchange for an honest review.