Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
The Watermill Theatre’s summer show this year is the wonderful Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. And what a delightful show it is!
Once again, this fantastic theatre demonstrates how imaginative they are at using their unique, but tiny space, to put on quality theatre. It’s a complete contrast to last year’s Jesus Christ Superstar, and yet the holistic approach of using the gardens and promoting an immersive production is still very much there.
It is a charming show. The production team have really pulled out all the stops. The gardens are full of lovely little touches, and refreshments and the restaurant menu follow this through.
Ian Fleming’s classic story, with music and lyrics by the Sherman brothers, and adapted by Jeremy Sams, is such a fun tale, and really has something for everyone, from comedy and slapstick to romance, and is good fun for young and old alike.
Paul Hart’s direction and vision for this production is so imaginative. He really knows this space, and it shows. Every inch of the theatre itself is used, with some beautiful touches.
Christian Edwards as Caractacus Potts, the inventor injects just the right amount of fun into the role, but never veers into caricature. His relationship with his children Jeremy and Jemima is lovely to watch. The children are played by 4 pairs of children and the two I saw were outstanding. They were confident, but never ‘stagey’.
The love interest from Truly Scrumptious played by Lydia Louise in her professional debut was played honestly. Her story with Potts is a romance that blossoms slowly, but is never over sentimental. Lydia Louise has a thriving career ahead of her if this performance is anything to go by!
Sam Pay as Boris and Alexander Zane as Goran, the two Vulgarian spies, deliver fantastic performances. Zane, especially, during the slight technical show stop just before the interval, was beautifully in character, ad-libbing to the audience. And let’s not forget that Zane is also the onstage MD in this actor-musician show. He worked like a Trojan!
Also delivering the laughs are Samuel Morgan-Grahame as Baron Bomburst and Mairi Ikegami as the Baroness. They both nail their performances, giving larger than life energy throughout.
Another very special mention should go to Mark Curry as Grandpa Potts. Now he is someone I know from my childhood, watching Blue Peter, but he is also a seasoned actor and musical theatre performer. He gives a very commanding performance, as the eccentric patriarch of the Potts family.
And then we come to the other star of the show…the car! Now I remember having tears in my eyes when watching Chitty fly at the Palladium…and clearly this was never going to happen in the Watermill, but the design team have come up with a way to ensure there is still magic…and it really works!
The other star of this show, are the beautiful songs. I’ve ways had a soft spot for Hushabye Mountain, but there are so many more exception musical offerings. The actor musician cast that the Watermill is so famous for doing so brilliantly, perform them all so well.
This really is fabulous family fun…Fantasmagorical!
This show was reviewed on Thursday 4th June 2026 at The Watermill Theatre, Berkshire where it runs until the 13th September 2026. Tickets available here: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang | Watermill Theatre
Review written by Ruth Hawkins
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Photo credit : Pamela Raith
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