Mary Poppins

At only eight years old, Redcliffe Musical Theatre are a young company by community theatre standards in Brisbane, and over the years they have always been ambitious, never shied away from the daunting, and have come through with flying colours on several occasions. But with Mary Poppins the company came of age. It’s by far their best production to date.

The story of an umbrella carrying nanny who brings warmth and a little bit of magic to an Edwardian family has entertained legions of fans in print, film and on stage for years. Disney’s musical version of it works a treat with showstopper after showstopper (“Jolly Holiday”, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”, “Step in Time”), magic effects, and colourful costumes.

Lauren Roche brought a wealth of Mary Poppins experience to the title character having previously played the role for Ipswich Musical Theatre. She sang “Practically Perfect” perfectly, danced with brio throughout, and off-set the inherent sweetness of the part with a nice touch of tartness.

Jackson Head as Bert, the lovable chimney-sweep, simply radiated warmth and cheekiness, and was spectacular tap-dancing in “Step in Time” and over the London rooftops.

But it was Alice Simpson as Jane and Thomas Bapty as Michael who simply stole the show. They both eschewed precociousness for spunk and zeal. In this regard Julian Fellowes’ script served them well. It was quite the best reading of these roles I’ve seen.

Reagan Warner as George Banks captured the stern disciplinarian and man all-at-sea with his emotions with skill, whilst Kristie Pitt as his wife Winifred dithered with dignity but stepped up to the plate when needed.

Kayluan Miney was a fine “downstairs” Mrs Brill, Meg Kiddle a flamboyant Mrs Corry, while Trish Dearness wore Miss Andrew’s’ “black-hat” with lip-curling relish.

The kids of the chorus were a big plus with not only lots of “eyes and teeth” at every appearance, but also lots of talent. The whole production needed a couple of performances under its belt to tighten the scene changes and to clean-up the scrappy lighting and sound cues otherwise Madeleine Johns’ direction ticked all the right boxes.

Peter Pinne