Yet another fabulous trip to the
Norwich Theatre Royal on Saturday 30th July with Emma Iannotta
(a.k.a Notta) to see the matinee performance of Mary Poppins, UK Tour. We
travelled down Friday afternoon to stay with my parents. We arrived to an empty
house with a note and money to get a takeaway accompanied by a bottle of red
wine and Primm’s (YUM! Thank you Mother). So Me and Emma did what we know best,
eating deep fried food with cheese and garlic accompanied by plenty of alcohol.
Mother and father then arrived and we had more giggles and even more, Bailys,
Sherry, beer, wine …….. bed. So when we woke up to get ready for our matinee
performance we had a slight headache. Anyway we were on the road by 11 and due
to arrive in Norwich by 11:45. However Emma delayed the E.T.A by having to stop
in the A146 Worlingham bypass layby to get rid of the poison in her stomach
(i.e. fermented Bailys). Oh well, it was worth the delay. That was not the only
bodily fluid story to our day out. When we were getting fresh air and tweeting
during the interval a pigeon or gull nearly pooped on us. When I say nearly I
mean, inches away from one of our heads. It was so funny I nearly wet myself.
Anyway now our dignity has totally vanished I will tell you all about Mary
Poppins.
Mary Poppins is of course based on
the Disney Film of the same name, which in turn was based on the Mary Poppins
stories written by P L Travers. The film starred legendary Julie Andrews as
Mary Poppins with Dick van Dyke as Burt. It is one of the most loved family
films and I think Childline should be phoned if any infant is denied the chance
to watch this film, countless times. It is brilliant! Mary Poppins opened in
2004 in the West End at the Prince Edward Theatre (currently home to another Disney
classic, Aladdin). The show was nominated for 9 2005 Olivier Awards, winning
Best Actress for Laura Michelle Kelly (Poppins) and Theatre Choreographer
(Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear). The other awards were for best New Musical,
Best Actor, Supporting Role, Director, Set Design, Lighting and Costume Design.
A Broadway production opened in 2006; receiving 7 Tony (2007) nominations and
winning Best Scenic Design.
I think for me the scenery and
special effects were fantastic. Obviously Mary Poppins is practically perfect
and has magic and tricks hidden in her fabulous red coat. This aspect of a film
is always difficult to transform onto the stage. However it was done really
well. I was distracted by falling confetti (can I be anymore stereotypical
haha), and then the next thing I know Mary Poppins has appeared on stage. Toys
came to life, a broken kitchen fixed itself and Mary’s magical endless bottomed
bag was in top form (even though I did see the bottom of the bag and saw how it
happened) a mirror, a plant and the rest all appeared from the bag as well as a
bed turning up. Burt walked around the whole of the stage, I mean in a square
route around the stage. This was amazing and I couldn’t even blink, my eyes
were stinging, I just could not miss any. And I can confirm Mary Poppins can
actually fly in real life, this is not an illusionJ. To begin with Me and Emma were
disappointed as Mary did not fly, however by the end of the show we were
practically pleased with how she entered and left the stage. I very rarely cry
during musicals as I am just too excited by what is going on. However the
finale of Mary Poppins had me on the verge, not because I was happy or sad but
I was just so incredibly over whelmed by the whole Mary Poppins experience, I
just had so much emotion going on. This has to be one of the best things I have
seen on stage, absolutely fantastic.
Mary Poppins on the stage was
produced and co-created by the god that is Cameron Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher
(President of the Disney Theatrical Group) and Julian Fellowes (known for
Downton Abbey) writes the book. The amazing Sherman Brothers (Richard and
Robert) wrote the original music and lyrics for the animation film and the
majority of these songs feature in the stage adaptation. One of my favourite
songs is Feed the Birds and this was sung brilliantly by both Mary and the Bird
Lady, who I think was an understudy in the performance we saw, Sophie Caton;
the others Jolly Holliday, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Lets Go Fly a
Kite, Step in Time and A Spoonful of Sugar are all there. The stage adaptation
has removed I Love to Laugh and Sister Suffragette, so if you wanted a carbon
copy of the animated film this is not the musical for you, but do not let this deter
you from Mary Poppins. New songs, additional music and lyrics have been created
by the wonderful duo of Stiles (George) and Drewe (Anthony); who have brought
musicals to our eyes and ears including Peter Pan, Betty Blue Eyes and a new
version of Half a Sixpence (currently playing at the Chichester Festival). New
songs include Cherry Tree Lane, Precision and Order; with my new favourites
including Practically Perfect, Brimstone and Treacle and Anything Can Happen. These
new songs have beautiful music accompanied by classic witty Drewe’ian lyrics. It
is a great soundtrack to listen too.
Mary Poppins is played by Zizi Strallen.
She has recently been in UK tours of both Hairspray and Cats, both of which I
have seen so I need to check out my programmes to see if I have seen Zizi
before. I am now in love with Strallen as a performer, especially as Mary
Poppins. She has the flare that Poppins needs, which I cannot describe, kind
yet stern, witty yet dry, loving yet distant. No one can of course top my idol,
Julie Andrews; however Strallen gives a wonderful portrayal of Mary. What a
character she is, how amazing must it be to say I have portrayed Mary Poppins
on stage? Hats (or should I say umbrellas) off to Zizi. Burt is played by Matt
Lee who is great; with Mr and Mrs Banks played by Neil Roberts and Rebecca Lock
respectively. I definitely recognised Lock from somewhere but have no idea
where from, the programme credits didn’t jog my memory. I loved Lock’s performance;
she was funny and also had a wonderful singing voice. Penelope Woodman played
Miss Andrew, a new character for the stage show, who was Mr Banks’ nanny when
he was young (Miss Andrew does feature in the books by P L Travers); initially
I hoped she was named after the wonderful Julie. She is funny, very very
theatrical and I loved her song (Brimstone and Treacle). In the performance I
saw I think it was Verity Biggs playing Jane and Lewis Fernee playing Michael.
Both good little actors and do so well as they feature throughout the whole
musical.
Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear
choreograph the stage adaptation and they have done a wonderful job. The scene
and dance moves to supercalifragilisticexpialidocious are amazing which are
reprised during the finale. I would say I would try and learn this scene of
dance moves but then it is more likely that I will meet an alien tomorrow. It
was great and I was just gob-smacked at how everyone was so in sync and they didn’t
mess up. Really special too see. Bob Crowley designed the costumes, and apart
from the typical ones, Mary Poppins’ costumes were beautiful. The new scenes
which do not feature in the film, the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (at a
sweet shop) scene and when the toys come to life, costumes were colourful and
shockingly grand. I loved the lighting, especially during Mary’s entrance and
departure from the stage and the backdrop was beautiful (Natasha Katz; who also
designed the wonderful Aladdin lighting for the new West End show). The
anything can Happen scene is unrealistically fantabulous; a giant replica of
the famous Poppins umbrella with a bird, that lights up and twirls descends on
the stage with the company dancing and singing around it; like an extremely
camp campfire.
I have to say I am still reeling in
this fantastic musical; YouTube clips of last year’s Royal Variety performance
are a daily occurrence. It honestly is one of the best things I have seen on
the stage. I cannot wait to see it again. Strallen is a wonderful Poppins, the
whole cast entertain people for the entirety of the show and now up and down
the country people have the opportunity to see this amazing show. Mary Poppins
entertained the people of and around Norwich for the past four weeks and now the
show is heading to (hopefully) a place near you. The current tour is due to
visit Plymouth, Bradford, Cardiff and Newcastle before it ends. This tour won the
2016 Whatsonstage award for Best UK Tour. As for Norwich Theatre Royal regulars
do not panic, there is plenty to see before the end of this year including, Gilbert
and Sullivan, Rocky Horror Show, That’s Entertainment, The Full Monty, The Sound
of Music, Chicago, The Commitments and of course the duly anticipated Jack and
the Beanstalk Panto; what a great year to be a regular at the Norwich Theatre
Royal. Please get in touch on Twitter @AaronBurgess89
