Review: CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, The Watermill Theatre
Paul Hart's revival soars into The Watermill this summer
The Watermill Theatre that has gone from strength to strength in recent years, being named The Stage’s 2026 Theatre of the Year. Now they fly into the summer with perhaps their most ambitious revival yet with the classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. If they can transport audiences to Middle Earth and PT Barnum’s circus, can they up the ante with a flying car?
A musical that’s often relied on the technical spectacle of the titular car, the question that stood when this revival was announced was how The Watermill’s intimate space could achieve such a feat. Fortunately this is where director (and The Watermill’s artistic director) Paul Hart’s ingenuity and creative vision shine. A production filled with charm and childlike whimsy, an air of nostalgia lingers as we follow down-on-his-luck inventor Caractacus Potts, his two children and Truly Scrumptious’s adventure with the strangely magical car. There’s also an air of emotional depth that makes this revival stand apart, but that’s just the beginning.
Katie Lias’s imaginative set takes inspiration from Caractacus’s inventions, a workshop-esque space adorned with gears, cogs and his eccentric contraptions. Complemented by Marc Parrett’s adorable puppetry, Jai Morjaria’s colourful lighting and Daniel Denton’s video design, they’re able to make the smallest of spaces feel larger than life. By the time the car takes flight at the end of act one, you can’t help but be spellbound by its sheer creativity.
Like The Watermill’s recent summer revivals, they make clever use of the outdoor space with a marquee for a madcap funfair sequence, capped off by the bombastic "Me Ol’ Bamboo" with exuberant choreography courtesy of Anjali Mehra.
A staple of the Watermill, this Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is anchored by a talented group of actor musicians who gorgeously reinterpret the Sherman Brothers’ classics including the titular song, "Hushabye Mountain", and "Truly Scrumptious". Christian Edwards's (who some may know as the theatre personality West End Producer) Caractacus Potts is full of charisma and softness as a doting father to Jeremy and Jemima, played with verve by Bodhi Allnutt and Aila McLeish at the performance I attended.
Lydia Louise meanwhile makes a confident professional debut as Truly Scrumptious, finding a balance of maternal warmth towards the Potts kids and a feisty independence that makes her romance with Caractacus understated yet believable.
When we reach Vulgaria, that’s when we get this production’s real scene stealers. Alexander Zane and Sam Pay make a hilarious double act as Vulgarian spies Goran and Boris, even taking time to interact with the audience with talks of the British stiff upper lip and the weather. Samuel Morgan-Grahame (Jesus Christ Superstar) and Mairi Ikegami bring laughs and a sinister edge as petulant tyrants Baron and Baroness Bomburst. Last but not least, a character who for generations has traumatised children, Susannah van der Berg’s Childcatcher carries more a pantomime villain edge while her intimidating presence can be felt through the first notes of her clarinet.
Whether you grew up with the 1968 film or are learning about it for the first time, this Chitty Chitty Bang Bang revival will whisk the whole family away. The Watermill Theatre’s ambitions continue to grow each year, but they prove that with a little bit of imagination, true theatrical magic can come from the simplest of things.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang runs at the Watermill Theatre until 13 September
Photo credits: Pamela Raith
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