I’m
always somewhat nervous when a favourite film - especially one from my
childhood- gets a stage adaptation. It
can be a massive disappointment (Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, The Worst
Witch for example) or satisfyingly brilliant whilst capturing the magic of the
film or book such as the Malory Towers's stage adaptation. So to say my nerves were on tenterhooks
before the show started is a major understatement!
It’s hard to believe the film is 50 years' old - but this stage adaptation makes the musical feel new and fresh again, and will most probably prompt a rush in sales of the film DVD.
The story is set at the start of World War Two during the Blitz, and the production starts with the three Rawlins children - Charlie, Carrie and Paul - being put to bed by their father. Moments later disaster strikes as bombs drop and the children are tragically orphaned and sent to live in fictional Pepperinge Eye, near the Dorset coast, where they are placed in the reluctant care of Miss Eglantine Price (Dianne Pilkington). The magic starts right from the first scene as we see the Rawlins's home destroyed in the Blitz. I’m not giving any spoilers away on this part but those first few minutes of the show gave the audience an insight as to what a wonderfully spellbinding production they were about to witness.
Having made it perfectly clear to Mrs Hobday (Jacqui Dubois) - who has the difficult task of finding evacuees suitable safe homes, that she will only take the Rawlins's children in until another home can be found, Charlie, the eldest of the three (Conor O’Hara making his professional debut having graduated from Mountview in 2020), Carrie, and youngest sibling Paul decide to run away - but when the witness trainee witch, Miss Price, attempting to fly on her recently delivery of a broomstick, they decide to stay, having bribed her to get their own way so they keep her witch training a secret.
Paul brings with him a pop-up storybook about a fictional land of Nopeepo (“no people” - although in the film version the magical land is called Naboombu) and after going on a mission to “Portobello Road” (one of the original songs from the film, with new songs added for the stage adaptation) to find the missing half of the spell book which holds the final part of the last spell she’s to perfect, (“Substitutiary Locomotion”), they discover that the final part of the spell is inscribed on a medallion worn by the King of Nopeepo. Using the bed shared by the children, Miss Price uses magic to transport them to Nopeepo. The special effects had wowed me already but the flying bed literally took my breath away. Now I’m not going to put any spoilers but in other shows I’ve managed to see exactly how they’re making objects appear to fly - from the glass elevator at the end of the West End production of 'Charlie And The Chocolate Factory' to Elphaba flying in 'Wicked', I’ve known exactly what to look for and where to see how the object “flies” - but no matter how hard I looked for the usual methods on this bed - I couldn’t see how it was being done - which made it even more magical for me. I was speechless.
For those familiar with the film, the land of Nopeepo is a cartoon as all the animals are living under the sea - no people, so I was curious to see how this part (a large section of the story) would be done. I’m usually not a huge fan of puppets (other than Avenue Q) but these puppets were something else! From the rabbit that Eglantine transforms various people into, to the fish, and the King of Nopeepo (a lion), it really brings the film to life whilst still capturing the magic beautifully.
The costumes (and wigs) are fantastic too - from the typical 1940's knits and tweeds worn by the children to the stunning purple skirt suit and bright copper curls worn by Miss Price to the sparkling outfits worn during the dance competition at the Beautiful Briny Ballroom. Dianne Pilkington did not disappoint in the role of Eglantine Price - both vocally and acting she was truly spellbinding to watch. Tonight we had Sam Lupton (who I had the pleasure of seeing several times during his time as Boq in the West End production of Wicked) standing in for Charles Brunton in the role of Emelius Browne (“Browne with an “E” - Emelius - a line that made me laugh out loud as that’s exactly what I say when spelling out my own surname - hey - I get you Emelius - we totally earned that “E”) who again didn’t disappoint as the fraudster behind the so-called witch apprentice training scheme, who ends up joining Eglantine and the children on their mission to find the final part of the spell. The younger two of the children (Carrie and Paul) are played by different people depending on date and venue - I haven’t been able to find out who we had this evening but feel like they deserve a mention - “Carrie” in particular had a pitch-perfect voice when singing solo parts and was an utter joy to watch.
There’s
honestly very little I can fault with this adaptation - definitely worth “bobbing
along” to see - it’s truly spellbinding.
Just what’s needed to put the magic back into the looming Christmas
after last year's depressing lockdown and restriction-filled Christmas and the
perfect winter warmer as the nights get colder and darker. I could go and see every performance of the
long-touring production and it would still feel as magic three months later.
Reviewer - Lottie Davis-Browne
on - 27.10.21
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