Music and Lyrics by The Sherman Brothers

Stage Adaptation by Jeremy Sams

Directed by Thom Southerland

Tickets from £29.00

Sixty years ago, writer Ian Fleming created a story of mad-cap inventions, spies, and abducted children, forced to be saved by a decidedly British chap and his love interest with a pun-inspired name.

And yes, now you mention it, the similarities between Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and James Bond are rather pronounced.

Fleming’s other British icon has a license of a different sort, a charming children’s tale which found stratospheric fame in a 1968 film adaptation starring Dick Van Dyke. Now, with an equally chipper Adam Garcia stepping into the eccentric inventor role, Caractacus Potts, and hopping into that flying, whizzing, and sailing car salvaged from the local scrap. Drowning the stage in authentic affection for his two children, Jeremy and Jemima (delightfully played tonight by Isabella Manning and Louis Wilkins), this single father has the occasional help from his equally eccentric and barmy father, Grandpa Potts (Liam Fox), the family dog Edison (charmingly performed as a puppet).

Thom Southerland’s direction looks to inject the old-banger of a tale with a few more contemporary flourishes and modern trimmings that make this Chitty Chitty Bang Bang stand apart from its 2002 musical adaptation, to be its own unique being: humorous but still possessing a few tricks under the bonnet. With the arrival of some larger-than-life characters to stir up some trouble, the heart of the story centres around the Potts’ modest, but strong family connection, and their openness to Truly Scrumptious – a candy-entrepreneurs daughter, and love interest of Caractacus.

As a trio of leads, Garcia, Fox, and Ellie melt any potential neigh-sayers in the audience with their authentic dedication and care for the show and its elements. Garcia’s footwork is in fine fettle with Karen Bruce’s choreography and demonstrates a fine-tuned balance between a caring father and a dithering inventor. Fox’s projected comedy echoes through the Playhouse space, at his best when flying solo or having the focus angled towards Grandpa, subduing the big performance to allow others (particularly the local youth castings) their opportunity to shine. Nunn is a true standout as Truly: sympathetic (to a degree) and strong, without being overbearing or overly negative, delivering solid vocals.

Fittingly, the story of fixing up an old banger of a car has a tight-belted approach with much of the staging, and though initially, the scaled-back design from Morgan Large takes some getting used to, the introduction of puppets, cabaret fairground costumes, and a far funnier than it has right to be model of Chitty finds a pleasant charm if a touch lacking in true innovation. Much of the staging comes from a trio of large boxes, and the occasional chair or set dressing, but much is made with tiny props to convey scale and pushed hard to emphasise the humour and pantomime nature of it all. And pantomime this feels, and that’s before you add in regular King’s Theatre, Glasgow treasure Elaine C. Smith.

Smith’s less nightmarish take on the spindling cruelty of the Childcatcher is a popular choice, but a far-cry from the infamously terrifying role. There are certainly some elements of dread with her voice modulation, and the return of the Childcatcher’s song ‘Kiddy Widdy Winkies’, but there might be a couple of changes a step outside of what some audiences will expect.

Thankfully, where the production does maintain stringent respect for the original film (and 2002 stage adaptation) is in the Sherman brother’s iconic score. And with the recent passing of Richard M. Sherman, there’s a sting in just how touching this evening’s band captures the undeniable talents the brothers brought to the world with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, and The Jungle Book. But it’s the timeless lyrics which make the most discernible impact; comedically and otherwise. ‘Hushabye Mountain’ retains a top spot for tugging at the emotional pull string, while numbers like ‘Me ‘ol Bam-Boo’ or ‘You Too’, soften the audience.

But leave it to Bibi Jay and Hadrian Delacey as the Baroness and The Baron to rival the dynamic duo of Truly Scrumptious and Potts’ universally praised ‘Doll on a Music Box’ with ‘The Bombie Samba’ – a ridiculous number that runs the musical through a chaotic gauntlet of shlock and confetti, and is one of the stand-out performances for its energy and step away from the more traditional elements that productions does salvage. Jay and Delacey own their parts entirely, toying with the newly introduced double entendres, while other principal antagonists Boris and Goran (Adam Stafford and Michael Joseph) are runaway hits with their comedic shots and over-the-top delivery as the Vulgarian spy duo, tasked with infiltrating the English and locating Chitty.

Striking a precarious balance of old-fashioned meets contemporary overlay, Jeremy Sams’ stage adaptation achieves a fine pace throughout the first act – and while the second act cuts itself abruptly, it all comes together for an uplifting atmosphere the audience are thrilled to share. Cobbling together components of childhood memories with enough of a new flair to give cause for the production overhaul and draw, this old-banger has never looked, and sounded, so good.

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