Once again, Darlington Operatic
Society prove that they are capable of producing a 10/10, supremely professional,
highly energetic and original show which will appeal to the whole family.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the much
loved children’s tale penned by Bond creator Ian Flemming, lives long and fond
in the memories of almost every child. The quintessential Disney-styled
family unit of one missing parent and the trials of the other bringing up two
delightful, if somewhat spirited, kids alone is instantly recognisable.
Coupled with the magic of a flying car, the subterfuge of spies, the peril of
being captured in a far away land and the villainous Kiddie Catcher there’s not
much missing for children to lose themselves to.
Of course, the movie brought to life
the characters of Caractacus Potts, Truly Scrumptious et al and through the
1968 Roald Dahl production, most peoples’ personalisations of the characters
were set. To many, Dick van Dyke will always be the hapless inventor,
Sally Ann Howes the eponymous Truly and Robert Helpman the stuff of
kindergarten nightmares. It is therefore because of the fondness
for the film that any company attempting to put on a stage production will have
an additional hurdle to vault – that of persuading the audience that their
versions are just as worthy of belief.
DOS have never been one to shy away
from a challenge and their opening night performance of Chitty once again
demonstrates they have a massive pool of talent to draw on. Taking the
lead as Potts the inventor is Julian Cound who warms into the role and is at
his most charming when interacting with his on stage children, the wonderful Matthew
Scott & Alix Lennie (who were mesmerisingly good). Despite now being
one of the senior statesmen of the society, Julian’s energy and enjoyment is
there for all to see, his careful nurturing of the young cast making them at
ease to relax and perform as rehearsed. Julian has always had a great
stage voice and once again he demonstrates his range throughout, though there
may be some who would doubt his ability to sing the kids to sleep with a rather
powerful rendition of Hushabye Mountain. Playing opposite Julian as the
delicious Truly Scrumptious is DOS’s own theatre superstar Beth Hopper – Beth
has the purity of voice and stage grace worth the admission fee on her own and
shows genuine maternal care towards Matthew and Alix. Whether playing a
fairy godmother or a potential glamourous step-mother, she lights up the whole
auditorium. Completing the Potts gang is the last stalwart of the Empire,
Grandpa, played by David Murray who manages to blend Lionel Jeffries with
Blakey from On the Buses to brilliant effect.
Of course, the titular star needs
her own mention – Chitty is a wonderful creation and through very clever stage
management and lighting, the sailing and flying scenes are brilliantly
believable.
The challenge for choreography and
direction is in ensuring scenes without Chitty are not simply seen as fillers
until the magical mechanical star returns; of course, the anthemic title song
makes this rather difficult but by allowing both the Vulgarian spies (Nick
Myers and Eddie Taylor-Jones) and the Baron and Baroness to impart some humour,
Director Joanne Hand has overlaid genuine comedy to compliment the traditional
musical storytelling. I doubt there has been a funnier double act seen on
this stage (in either guise) who could beat Hannah Teasdale and Leighton Taylor-Jones
– their chemistry as the toy mad Baron and his child-phobic wife is pure comedy
gold worthy of a spin off show all of their own. With more than a few
hidden naughty winks for the adults they border on pantomime without ever
threatening to descend into a festive farce and I would urge any producer to
check them out.
As always with a DOS production, the
ensemble provide high energy dance routines and plenty of rousing choruses,
giving the audience exactly what they hope for and expect – a wonderful family
night which is guaranteed to leave you with an ear-worm for your journey home.
Due to the nature of casting and the
younger members of the team, there are two separate casts for a number of the
roles. As such some of the roles mentioned in this review may be played
by others in subsequent performances but there's one guarantee, they will all come with the DOS seal of quality
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