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Stefanie Jones as Mary Poppins. Pictures: Danny Kaan. Mary Poppins Birmingham Hippodrome ***** Some shows just completely blow you away, and this one . . . well, it's Practically Perfect, in fact, you could say it is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. From the low key opening with Bert on a dimly lit stage quietly singing Chim Chim Cher-ee, to the entire cast in a rousing finale medley there is never a dull moment. There are moments to tug at the heartstrings, a quality script littered with gems of wit, a set from Bob Crowley that is a masterpiece of the art and musical numbers as big and spectacular as they get – with even a tap extravaganza with a veritable army of chimney sweeps led by Bert in Step in Time, a sequence to rival Fred Astaire in Top Hat. The latter, perhaps, not surprising given the choreographers are Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear Australian star Stefanie Jones is a very English Mary Poppins. Commanding the stage whenever she appears sporting a lovely voice she even provides us with a spectacular exit flying high above the audience - which presumable required an Olympic speed dash back down to the stage for the curtain call. Another Australian, Jack Chambers, provided our Cockney rebel, Bert, with, one must admit, a somewhat more convincing Cockney accent than a certain Dick Van Dyke managed, and apart from acting, singing with a pleasing pop star's voice and oozing charm, his tap dancing is simply superb with a solo in Step in Time a real showstopper – or perhaps showtapper in this particular case. Then there are the Banks family of course led by West End and Broadway star Michael D Xavier. He was last seen in these parts as a wonderful Prof Henry Higgins in the superb production of My Fair Lady at the Hippodrome a couple of years ago and here he gives us the work obsessed banker George, the father who sees his children as sort of marital add ons, something his wife, Winifred, and servants have to look after and worry about.
Jack Chambers as Bert with his chimney sweeps His offspring are there to be seen, occasionally, and certainly not heard, while on Press night it fell to understudy Sarah-Marie Maxwell to give us a lovely, homely Winifred and she really did step up and make the role her own. As for the children . . . Olive Harrison was a delightful Jane and Oliver Benson a cheeky Michael, a pair from the ten youngsters alternating in playing the roles. They gave us a natural charm and displayed that one thing no stage school can ever teach – exquisite timing for their comedy moments. Around them we had a whole range of characters from dancing statues to officious park keepers and a huge, hard working and always essential ensemble who provided everything from bankers to sweeps, passers by to statues, anything and everything needed. We had some lovely cameo roles such as Patti Boulaye as the ragged bird woman with her fine voice for Feed the Birds. She may just be selling birdfood but she acts as the touchstone for compassion and kindness. Then there is Sharon Wattis as Mrs Corry in her secret shop selling conversations and letters to make up words . . . such as supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, which is not a word for someone with hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, which by one of life's little ironies is a fear of long words . . . .
Patti Boulaye as the Bird Woman Then there is the cook Mrs Brill, played, or perhaps more accurately moaned, by Rosemary Ashe and the odd job man and her assistant Robertson Ay, played by Ruairidh McDonald, although assist is not one Robertson' more notable attributes. As for odd . . . well that's another matter. Sailing around everyone is David Burrows as the retired Admiral Boom with a second job as Mr Bank's boss, chairman of the bank that employs him. Just so you don't start to feel too comfortable enter Wendy Ferguson, with her operatic voice, as Miss Andrew with her brimstone and treacle. Miss Andrew is the nanny from the dark side, George's old nanny who has made him the sorry specimen, sorry . . . the man, he is today. The only antidote to her is the magical Mary Poppins. And speaking of magic the musical is littered with illusions. For a start there is flying (Flying by Foy) with tap dancing Bert walking up the walls and across the roof of the proscenium and, as we mentioned, Mary not only calmly flying across the stage but above the audience vanishing up into the roof at the back of the gods which really is spectacular. She did it quite serenely, as if that was the way any sensible person would leave the stage . . . unlike Joe Pasquale's similar exit in Sleeping Beauty back in 2010 when he had the worried look of a man questioning the breaking strain of wires and the security of whatever was holding them . . . As for the magic? That is down to the legendary Jim Steinmeyer and Paul Kieve who produce illusions from the simple, such as hat stands and huge potted plants from a seemingly small bag to the spectacular, such as brooms sweeping by themselves or the automatic cleaning up of the kitchen seemingly destroyed by Robertson and the children. Crowley's set is another piece of magic with giant automated scenic trucks which roll forward and are able to revolve and open up to reveal the inside of the Banks' house or the kitchen or hide in the background on the hippodrome's cavernous stage with the children's bedroom dropping from the flies and all manner of scenery gliding in and out or flying down, all mixed with video projections (Luke Halls) and spectacular lighting from Hugh Vanstone. Paul Gatehouse's sound design was not perfect initially but that is not uncommon early in a run with a new venue and levels were sorted as the show went on. All the familiar songs by Richard and Robert Sherman from the film are there along with new songs from George Stile and Anthony Drew such as Practically Perfect as Mary's arrival song, Brimstone and Treacle for a darker moment, Being Mrs Banks, Winifred's lovely solo which is a bittersweet reflection on her role and Anything Can Happen which supplies a rousing finale. The music comes from a 12 piece orchestra under musical director Isaac McCullough, which is huge for a touring production, with real musicians giving a far fuller, vibrant, rounded and lush sound than synthesizers and click tracks can manage. A shout out as well to the automation programmers, stage crew and technicians. This is a tech heavy production with plenty of scene changes needing precise timing and everything flowed perfectly with never a pause in the action all helping to create a wonderful evening of entertainment. Julian Fellowe's (Gosford Park, Downton Abbey) book gives a nod to the original 1964 Disney film but also draws on P L Travers' original novels with the first published in 1934. It has a darker side that the more whimsical film, introducing the nanny from Hades, Miss Andrew for example, while instead of happy families we have a dysfunctional Banks' clan with Mary adding repairing the family fractures to her role as nanny. It all gives more depth to the story, introducing the idea of kindness and compassion while showing respect to everyone, all helping the audience find their own emotional involvement. Richard Eyre’s direction along with co-director Matthew Bourne, ensures a cracking pace and the result is a wonderful piece of theatre creating its own brand of magic to 23-08-25 Roger Clarke 18-07-25 |
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