Bobbing back, Bedknobs is magical but the music's a little at sea: PATRICK MARMION's theatre review 

BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS

Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (and touring)

Rating:

Bedknobs And Broomsticks was the rose-tinted, part animated film starring Angela Lansbury that gave a warm, Ovaltine-glow to a generation of Seventies children – all thanks to its dancing broom and flying bed controlled by one of its brass knobs.

Now it’s been adapted by Disney for the stage, and will be flying all over the UK through the autumn and into the spring. Its mission is to enchant another generation of kids, and judging by its eager reception in Canterbury this week it can still cast a spell.

Magic is, in fact, the show’s unique selling point as three children – Charlie, Carrie and Paul – find themselves orphaned in the Blitz and sent to live in the safety of rural Dorset. Here they’re taken in by trainee witch Eglantine Price (played by Lansbury in the film), who’s doing a correspondence course in sorcery in the hope of defeating Hitler and the Nazis all on her own.

Bedknobs And Broomsticks has been adapted by Disney for the stage, and will be flying all over the UK through the autumn and into the spring

Truth be told, it’s a little too dependent on magic. A mash-up of Mary Poppins and The Wizard Of Oz, with touches of Narnia, Candice Edmunds’s lively production tries to plump up the slightly flimsy plot with a constant procession of props – including clouds and trees above and below the flying bed.

Director of illusions Jamie Harrison conjures up a genuinely impressive display of tricks. I couldn’t for the life of me see how the broomstick danced with no strings attached. Nor could my beady-eyed daughter figure out how they launched the glowing bed. And there’s a blizzard of airborne uniforms, flags and swords for the climactic battle.

But while they’ve totally cracked the magic, me and my child consultant daughter (11) were a little underwhelmed by the Sherman brothers’ songs. Richard and Robert are best known for writing the music to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats and Mary Poppins. Here, though, they could have used a little more chim-chim-cheroo.

One of the best numbers is A Step In The Right Direction, when Dianne Pilkington’s Eglantine struggles to straddle her broom. And there is sweetness in her song of encouragement to Charlie, The Age Of Not Believing. The Beautiful Briny cues a singing puppet fish with Mick Jagger lips.

Bedknobs And Broomsticks was the rose-tinted, part animated film starring Angela Lansbury that gave a warm, Ovaltine-glow to a generation of Seventies children

But the most memorable song is the company number Portobello Road, singing the praises of ‘the street where the riches of ages are sold’.

Pilkington has plenty of personality in her sweet, pealing voice. She fills Lansbury’s shoes well as an alternative Mary Poppins – a redhead with a broomstick instead of a brunette with a brolly.

But she could use more chemistry with Charles Brunton’s slightly wet magician, who’s meant to be the love interest. More Christopher Plummer, less Frank Spencer please!

A bigger problem is the decision to cast Charlie as an older actor (Conor O’Hara who’s a 20-something 13-year-old). He’s got a lovely stage energy, but at the show I caught this week his age separates him from the brilliant and more age-appropriate Poppy Houghton and Dexter Barry, playing younger siblings Carrie and Paul who are supposed to be about 9-10 and 6-7. They should all be played by children – or adults.

Judged best for under-11s by my daughter, it’s still a likeable show that will leave you with a warm glow.