Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Stray Cats Theatre and Mandurah Performing Arts Centre came together in a community partnership for their production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Directed by Karen Francis, it featured musical direction by David Hicks, Choreography by Ashleigh Riley and Megan Doohan, a cast of eighty-eight and an orchestra of thirteen.

This was a huge production, with lavish settings, beautiful backdrops, countless costumes and of course the titular automobile. Chitty the car, constructed by Peter Sydney-Smith (who also played Grandpa), was very impressive and even 'flew' (although I would have loved to have seen the mechanism somewhat hidden).

Lovely work from the principal cast, with Jon Lambert a likeable Caractucus Potts and Kristie Gray (who also vocal directed) a sweet-voiced Truly Scrumptious. Although both were very good, their voices didn't always blend well.

The Potts children Jeremy (Sebastian Cruse) and Jemima (Marisa Pereia) had lovely voices and gorgeous energy.

The villains were all delightfully eccentric and beautifully played. Daniel R. Nixon and Nicholas Gaynor worked extremely well together as the Vulgarian Spies, while The Baron and Baroness (Joshua Towns and Kim Moore) had wonderful chemistry and tight comic timing. Scott Hansen seemingly channelled the ghost of Sir Robert Helpmann, in an appropriately derivative and excellent performance.

The orchestra was talented and balance generally well-handled, but while there were some outstanding vocal performances, harmonies weren't always well executed.

The large cast was very enthusiastic, but sometimes pulled focus at inopportune moments and often there were simply too many people on stage. The large amount of hidden children however, was a distinct advantage, and they performed 'Teamwork' with precision.

This show was deservedly well-received and was great fun to watch. Well done to all involved.

Kimberley Shaw

Photographer: Gemma Little.