BWW Reviews: CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, New Wimbledon Theatre, March 16 2010

When I was at college, a professor used to mark up the reading lists with a V or an H: V denoted vertical reading, to be done sat upright in a chair, preferably at a desk; H denoted horizontal reading, to be done recumbent, preferably on a beach. Theatre can be divided into V evenings and H evenings - and evenings don't come much more horizontal than Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on tour nationwide and at The New Wimbledon Theatre until 3 April. 

The story of the indigent inventor, his flying car and his romance with posh totty Truly played out in an England as imagined by PG Wodehouse and the cartoonishly fascist Mitteleuropean state of Vulgaria will be familiar to many in the audience through the oft-repeated film. Indeed, parents and children were clapping along to the songs from the overture to the curtain-call. Fortunately, the audience aren't expecting rounded characters exploring their motivations - a good job too, since every character is unabashedly stereotyped - the audience are there for The Show.

And what a Show! The costumes are beautifully tailored and move wonderfully well in the dance routines; the songs are tuneful and witty and sung with great aplomb, especially by Katie Ray as Ms Scrumptious; but the piece de resistance is the extraordinary eponymous car. I'm not usually one for special effects in theatre, but Chitty earns the audible gasps in the house as she ups and flies around the stage in a spectacle as impressive as anything one might see in Vegas.

Sadly, but inevitably, The Child Catcher's role is downplayed from the magnificently malevolent Robert Helpmann's unforgettable turn in the movie, but younger children may still be frightened, so parents may want to explain the character prior to his arrival in the second act. Of course, it all works out in the end, as the multitudinous cast take their bows and dogs scamper across the stage again. Tickets aren't cheap, but you can see where every penny is spent and you get the songs running through your head days later for free! Like the sweets in Lord Scrumptious' Wonkaesque factory, I wouldn't want Chitty every day, but for a one-off treat, it's fun for all the family. 

 

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