Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Musical Review

*Ad - Gifted. All opinions are my own.

Those who know me, know I am a HUGE fan of musicals... in fact those who don't know me that well probably know that too with my tendency to quote and burst into song. It is a love I have passed down to my daughter who not only enjoys watching but the last 2 years has performed in two herself and will be performing once again this summer. So when we were invited to the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre to do an opening night Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Musical Review, we were never going to say no to that!

Chitty Chitty Bang Banghttps://chittyontour.com/# brings up so much nostalgia for me - I cannot remember how many times my sister and I watched this over and over again as children - learning the lyrics and the dances, and I have to say I had my doubts if the live musical would give me the warm fuzzies... but it did not disappoint.

Upon arriving at the Bournemouth Pavilion we were greeted by none other than Chitty herself as the wonderful replica of Chitty, normally housed at Beaulieu Motor Museum which we have delightfully seen before, was parked right out front!

I took along one of my close friends and her children who happen to be besties with my daughter and all three children adore performing themselves. We took our seats in the beautiful theatre and waited with excitement for the show to begin.

As I said... it did not disappoint, in fact it pretty much blew me away. I got emotional and a bit teary, I was "wowed" by some of the bigger numbers and the performers and I felt like my 8 year old self sat watching the film all over again! However, I am sure you want more details that than so....

The casting was on point! There were a few last minute casting changes* due to some availability but you would never have know because everyone was so perfect in their parts.

Ore Oduba was just sublime - Thanks to Strictly I knew he could dance but I had no idea he could sing as well and he did total justice to the role! Ellie Nunn - Ellie was not in any of the promotional posters but needs to be named an cheered as the wonderful Truly Scrumptious. She was everything you want in a leading lady and her voice was beautiful! It was wonderful to spot Charlie Brooks as the child-catcher and she completely did the role justice, though we would like to have seen more of her as there definitely was not enough of the child catcher in the show, but she got her "boos" when she came on stage like every good villain. The children were mind blowing and you could tell the little faces sat next to me were looking up thinking... wow that could be me!

I should really stop there with casting but honestly, I need to keep going. Grandpa Potts, especially considering this was an understudy taking on the role was sublime - perfectly how I remembered and made us all chuckle. The Baron and Baroness were HILARIOUS and some reminiscent of the film - how these actors kept up those Bulgarian accents is beyond me! Same goes for Boris and Goran who brought the house down more than once. Finally, the chorus and ensemble who were so on point and here there and everywhere and just spectacular to watch. I'd also like to add that growing up as a performer and doing multiple castings and shows myself it was nice to see so much representation on stage of different sizes, genders, race - it was quite clear these wonderful performers were cast on pure talent and not name or appearance which for young people is so so wonderful to see!

The staging and costume was out of this world - my favourite number was toot sweets and I literally got goosebumps during this. But the representation of fairground rides through costume was astounding - there were also some hilarious touches with the miniature car flying/driving across the stage, the Barons balloon on an obvious string and the very clever use of the blocks and props - they even had the breakfast machine!

Of course, the thing that made all our mouths drop to the floor was Chitty - an actual Chitty on the stage that moved and of course - flew! When Chitty rose into the air and wings came out I wasn't sure the children's jaws would ever come up off the floor.

It was a late night for us being a school night and living an hour away but my god was it ever worth it. I came away feeling like I'd been hugged and excited and had the most wonderful walk down memory lane and the children all came away with their minds just blown, stating which was their favourite characters, unable to choose their favourite moment or song from the show.

Whether you have seen the film or not, our children hadn't but now want to, this musical, the cast, the staging the sheer wonder are just so worth seeing!!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will be at the Bournemouth Pavilion up until and including 23rd March 2025 before it moves on to it's next location. Totally recommend seeing it and you can get tickets here.

*Due to the indisposition of Liam Fox, the role of Grandpa Potts was played by Adam Stafford. The role of the Baron was played by Hadrian Delacey. The role of Boris was played by Callum Train.