Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at The Regent Theatre Stoke on Trent Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by H Chan

Wow, where do I begin! I feel the usual words, amazing, excellent, phenomenal just don’t cut it. This show blew many I’ve seen completely out of the water. It was hilarious, energetic and just brilliant!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a childhood classic, which I worried one day might be forgotten amongst the new style movies and fast paced internet, but no. This story is timeless, and the way it was shown on stage will forever be imprinted on my son’s memory. He’d never seen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang before, despite my trying to persuade him that it was just as good, if not better than most current film offerings.

I took my nine year old son, (au/ADHD – I wouldn’t normally mention this as it’s completely irrelevant in most cases, but I feel the need to mention it now for context) it is hard to keep him focused during some shows, often they have a lull or a few quiet scenes which lose his attention. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang however was so fast paced with so many different things going on, that it kept him glued to the stage and dancing away. I did worry slightly that he might not cope when I saw the length, two hours and forty minutes, but due to the progression of the story and the liveliness of the songs, it really didn’t seem that long at all. The minute we left, he said he loved the songs and wanted to watch it again! They say that there’s a show for everyone, one which makes them fall in love with theatre, and I think we found his in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The show stars Adam Garcia as Caractacus, Liam Fox as Grandpa Potts, and Ellie Nunn as Truly, along with Hadrian Delacey as Lord Scrumptious and John Macauley as the Toymaker. All of them a joy to watch on stage.
The children playing Jemima and Jeremy Potts were perfect, played by Melody Caruana and Huxley Syers, who portrayed the innocent yet positive Potts children without a line nor note out of place, the energy they brought to the stage made us smile.

I couldn’t possibly mention everyone or every highlight in this review, as the whole cast were incredible, so I asked my son if any stood out for him. He loved Boris and Goran, who were played by Adam Stafford and Michael Joseph, the mischievous Vulgarians who pop up throughout the show. I feel without them and their playfulness, it would have been a completely different show. The use of props had us giggling away. This show had just the right amount of comic inuendo and adult directed jokes amidst the playful and lively storyline.

I loved the Chu Chui face scene, I thought it was done really well, and actually much preferred the Baron and Baroness, played by Martin Callaghan and Jenny Gaynor, in this show to the original. It can be hard to get such a relationship across on stage, but they nailed it. I also loved the high energy dancing from the Ole Bamboo scene. We were on the edges of our seats. The Vivienne as the Child catcher was creepy, especially the way she said kiddiwinks. I think even I’d run away if they came along offering me sweeties. The dancing from the ensemble brought the whole thing together. The local children’s ensemble need a mention too, they brought an energy and enthusiasm with them. I am sure we will see many of them in the world of theatre again as they grow up.

If you had any doubts about catching this show on tour, then please just get tickets. Young or old, this show will enthral you and have you singing the whole way home – and well into the next morning in the case of my son.

Our seats on row K had a fantastic view of everything going on on stage. The use of the stage, props and costumes were really well put together and thought through. Honestly, there wasn’t one thing I could criticize about any of it, even if I pushed.

The orchestra were flawless, hats off to the whole team involved in this production.

I won’t give away any spoilers, but it’s definitely worth going to see for the car too. The whole show revolves around this little car, so of course they had to do something spectacular with her. I don’t know how they did it, but my son’s face was lit up! It was really magical. The car was his favourite part of the show.

If we could give this show a ten, we could. It’s a very easy five out of five stars. It would have been five even if we’d left at the interval.

As for the theatre itself, well it’s easy to find and always clean. The staff are wonderful and helpful. They don’t have a car park, but there are many within five to ten minutes’ walk of the theatre, so don’t let that put you off.

You can find tickets here, www.atgtickets.com. Ticket prices start from £22.

Rating: 5/5

The show runs until Sunday 27th with one show per day, except Wednesday and Saturday which have two. However, you can find tour details here chittyontour.com.