Bristol has a strong connection with Cameron Mackintosh’s hugely successful stage adaptation of Mary Poppins. It was given its very first try-out performance at the Hippodrome back in 2004, and remains the only Disney musical to have been premiered in the UK. It went on to run for over three years in the West End and then for six more years on Broadway. From the moment that this new touring version begins it is abundantly clear that all the magic is still there.
Directed by Richard Eyre, co-directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne and with book by Julian Fellowes, there can have been few musicals to beat this one for the quality of its creative team. In the early planning stages they very sensibly recognised that they should not slavishly imitate the original 1964 film, so while some scenes will be very familiar to anyone with fond memories of Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, there are many others that are freshly minted. It was essential to keep the Sherman brothers’ wonderful songs, so all the old favourites such as ‘Chim Chim Cher-ee’ and ‘A Spoonful Of Sugar’ are still there, but in addition there are many new songs from George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, and very good they are too.
Zizi Strallen takes the title role, following in the sensible shoes of her older sister Scarlett, who has previously played the same part in London, New York and Sydney. Strallen gives us a brisk, crisp Mary Poppins, whose no-nonsense manners are leavened by a wicked sense of humour and a twinkle in her eye. Her precise, cut-glass enunciation is somewhat reminiscent of Julie Andrews, but she makes the part very much her own, giving a winning performance full of character. Australian Matt Lee is equally well cast as Bert, more than a little fond of Mary but philosophically accepting the boundaries of their friendship. His dancing in the second half’s show-stopper ‘Step In Time’ is breathtakingly skilful.
In last night’s performance the two children, Jane and Michael Banks, were played with great confidence and enormous charm by Ruby McGivern (age 12) and Colby Mulgrew (age 10). Their mother is played by Rebecca Lock, who has previously taken the title role in the West End. She gives a cleverly nuanced performance, portraying Winifred Banks as a loving wife and mother who initially finds herself at a loss to know how to deal with her wayward kids or her work-obsessed husband, but who later discovers an inner strength. ‘Being Mrs Banks’ is one of the new songs, which she sings beautifully.
However, perhaps the most memorable of Stiles and Drewe’s songs is the comic ‘Brimstone And Treacle’, delivered with terrifying, hyper-operatic force by Penelope Woodman as Mr Banks’ monstrous old nanny, Miss Andrew. The show’s most hilarious moment comes when Miss Andrew is forced to drink her own horrible medicine. Among many other strong performances Wendy Ferguson is excellent as harassed cook Mrs Brill.
Bob Crowley’s costume and set designs are spectacular and full of striking contrast. Some scenes such as the ‘Jolly Holiday’ dance in the park are a riot of bright colour, while other sequences make very effective use of a much more sombre monochrome, such as when we enter the forbidding building that houses the bank clerks. The choreography is consistently inventive and the special effects are a triumph, not least when Bert takes a gravity-defying stroll around the entire proscenium arch.
From the high-speed fun and games of ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ to the gentle sentimentality of ‘Feed The Birds’ this production never fails to deliver, taking older members of the audience back to their childhood and leaving younger ones wide-eyed in wonder. One song is titled ‘Practically Perfect’ – fair comment! ★★★★★ Mike Whitton 5th November 2015
Photo – Johan Persson
