The team at the Wyvern Theatre have pulled off yet another triumph with an amazing Youth Project production, this time Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
After a little over a weeks rehearsal, the 120 or so children gave a slick, professional performance with some of the young performers, all aged under 21, easily able to give many experienced pro’s a serious run for their money.
With many returning Youth Project performers this year was always going to be about the principal leads however Mollie Avenell playing young Jemima in her first ever Youth Project looked at home alongside Ben Brindle who played Jeremy.
Everybody involved in this production gave an amazing performance, from the hundred or so children in the chorus – putting in amazing effort throughout the night as they popped-up in the aisles and on balconies performing dance routines in what is probably many of their first time performing at the Wyvern and looking like they were having a great time, to the many experienced performers in the group.
Rob Curnock signed off his six-year project career with a flawless performance as the Toymaker, Archie Fisher impressed as Caractacus Potts alongside the exceptional Amy Gordon as Truly Scrumptious who looked and sounded like she’d been on stage for many years with the performance and vocal of the night coming as she became the mechanical doll in the music box.
There were plenty of laughs, too, thanks to the ‘spies’ Cloris and Goran and their new Vulgarian language played by Maddy Stimpson-Duffy and Marcellus Hill, Michael Kerr and Rae Alexander as the Baron and Baroness and the eccentric loveable Grandpa Potts played brilliantly by Dino Fisher-Stephens.
One of the highlights of the first half has to be credited to the technical team, like the performers also made up of youngsters (with a little help obviously), the sight of the flying car in a youth project is pretty amazing and I know from the people sitting around me was unexpected but come on it is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the car had to fly!
With the audience clapping and whooping throughout the evening I think it is safe to say everybody in the auditorium and also on stage had a great night watching a great performance, possibly the best project I have seen (apart from when my daughter was performing) and maybe if the professionalism of this year continues to next year the theatre may need to extend the performance so more people can get to witness some of the amazing local performers at their local theatre before they head off to the West-End!
