Chitty Chitty Bang Bang comes to Cardiff! Chitty Chitty Bang Bang comes to Cardiff!
08/05/2008
It’s less than 10 weeks until the curtain rises on Wales Millennium Centre’s biggest production to date.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang opens at the Cardiff arts venue on Thursday 3 July for an eight-week run, and staff are already gearing up to accommodate the most extravagant show they have ever staged.
Following a smash West End run which opened at the London Palladium in 2002 and ran for a record-breaking 1,414 performances, the touring version of Chitty brings with it a cast of 35 actors/dancers/singers, 16 musicians, 30 technicians, and 39 children – not to mention 10 dogs.
Transporting the sensational sets and stunning special effects into Cardiff will require 25 45ft trucks, with 130 people employed to move the show and set it up at the venue.
The infamous flying car itself cost close to £3/4million to make – and made it into the Guinness Book of Records for the most expensive stage prop ever created. The mechanisms have been specially built for the tour, but the actual part the actors sit in is the one from the original London production. The car’s exact weight is not known but the show’s producers say it is “tons and tons”. WMC’s Technical Director Martin Hunt always welcomes a challenge and he is looking forward to the task of flying the car.
Tickets have been selling fast since booking opened in September. Several of the 68 performances are close to selling out – and although it’s not too late for theatre-goers to get their hands on tickets, Wales Millennium Centre is advising people to book soon to avoid disappointment.
Despite being an international success, the Cardiff run will have a distinctly Welsh flavour with singer and presenter Aled Jones starring as eccentric inventor and widowed father Caracatus Potts, while Ian Watkins, best known as H from the pop band Steps as well as his stint in the Celebrity Big Brother house, is the evil Child Catcher charged with ridding Vulgaria of all children. Five pairs of Welsh children will alternate in the roles of the children Jemima and Jeremy Potts. They were found through open auditions at Wales Millennium Centre earlier this year.
The musical is based closely on the much-loved 1968 musical film which was adapted for the big screen by children’s author Roald Dahl from the 1964 book written by Bond creator Ian Fleming. This stage version includes many of the songs from the original soundtrack, including Truly Scrumptious, Hushabye Mountain and the Oscar-nominated title theme, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Artistic Director Adrian Noble was then charged with adding to and cutting scenes and characters from the film, while the multi Oscar and Grammy winning composers Richard and Robert Sherman – who wrote the original score, as well as music for such musicals as Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks – have penned some new musical numbers.
Fiona Allan, Arts and Audience Development Director at Wales Millennium Centre, said she was thrilled to be welcoming Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to the WMC stage.
She said: “Who doesn’t remember watching the film on television as a child? Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is one of the most iconic musicals of all time, and what better venue to host its Welsh premiere than a modern-day iconic Welsh building like WMC?
“For many young children in the audience this will be their first ever trip to the theatre – and there’s nothing quite like the magic of experiencing a live show for the first time. But even for regular theatre-goers, the sheer ambition and scale of this production is sure to impress. We are expecting jaws to drop when Chitty takes flight.
“Chitty is both the largest scale musical ever to come to WMC as well as having the most performances- It has only been to a handful of venues in the UK, as it’s simply too large a production for most- again proving WMC’s international reputation as one of the leading theatres in the UK. And Cardiff is the last stop of the tour, so don’t miss out!’
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang flies into Wales Millennium Centre from 3 July to August 30. Tickets are on sale now, priced from £10 to £39.50. To book, call 087010 40 2000 or visit the website below