Mary Poppins was one of those films I had on video as a kid that was rewound so many times the cogs had nearly worn away! I used to sit on the floor and sing along to the songs to my heart’s content even learning how to say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious backwards…indubitably. So when I was invited to watch it’s stage adaptation at the Birmingham Hippodrome last night I was incredibly excited to see one of my favourite childhood films brought to life on stage.
Mary Poppins sees the story of the Banks family with two children Jane and Michael who scare away all the nannies their emotionally distracted father can find to look after them with their uncontrollable and naughty behaviour. One day after throwing an advertisment the children wrote into the fireplace, a mysterious new nanny appears called Mary Poppins who puts her best foot forward (spit spot) to whip the children into line. There follows a journey into the weird and wonderful imagination of children, the stresses on parents to provide for their families and a little bit of magic for good measure!
[otw_shortcode_quote border=”bordered” border_style=”dashed”]There follows a journey into the weird and wonderful imagination of children…and a little bit of magic for good measure![/otw_shortcode_quote]
First of all I’d like to make something quite clear, Mary Poppins doesn’t explain anything which is probably a good thing because trying to explain everything that goes on in this production would be damn near impossible! I always remember the Disney classic didn’t seem to make much sense and it’s good to see the stage adaptation follows suit – there’s some weird scenes in this one! Cameron Mackintosh changed the story around quite a bit for this one which was a little confusing for me as I was sat expecting it to follow the film’s timeline pretty much to the letter. Some scenes were changed for the better, others (in my opinion) not so much, but I did enjoy the extension into Mr & Mrs Bank’s story lines and I suppose dancing statues in a park make a lot more sense than penguins!
The scenery and scale of this production were hands down the best and biggest I’ve ever seen…and I’ve seen a LOT of shows over the past 12 months! It was outstanding. With special effects that made you stare open mouthed at the stage like a codfish and a 50 strong cast of incredible dancers Mary Poppins truly is a spectacle. The costumes were to die for, the voices on point and the dance routines were so well choreographed it was a joy to watch. Matt Lee truly brought Bert to life with some big Dick Van Dyke shoes to fill and Rebecca Lock as Mrs Banks left me smiling every step of the way.
[otw_shortcode_quote border=”bordered” border_style=”dashed”]The scenery and scale of this production were hands down the best and biggest I’ve ever seen…![/otw_shortcode_quote]
All our favourite songs (and more) are brought to life on stage leaving you singing along and tapping your foot in the audience and I’m still humming them to myself now. Although the toy scene will be haunting my nightmares for all eternity (anyone who’s seen it will know what I mean!) it’s such a colourful production that’s fun for all the family and there’s no doubt as to why it’s done so well on the West-End and Broadway alreadypicking up a multitude of awards all round.
Mary Poppins is showing at The Birmingham Hippodrome until the 23rd April – Book your tickets at the box office HERE before the wind changes!
Have you seen Mary Poppins The Musical? Is this one you’ll be booking tickets for?
xax