Mary Poppins Performance - Christmas 2016

The Widnes Stage Review

SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS

Mary Poppins gets the HBO / NETFIX Production Treatment

First night review (4 am edition) for the St Bede’s Junior School production of ‘Mary Poppins’ – Tuesday 29th November 2016

Mr Banks (played by Joseph Coogan) and Bert (played by Thomas Roberts) in ‘A Man Has Dreams’ sing the following lines:

‘A man has dreams of walking with giants / To carve his niche in the edifice of time.’

The first night of ‘Mary Poppins’ demonstrated the two young women (who directed this production) also had dreams and a new vision of what can be done in a school production – and that dream unfolded ‘in the most delightful way.’

In 1964 when the film version of Mary Poppins was first released cinema audiences marvelled at the technology that enabled Mary and Burt to dance and interact with animated penguins, fairground horses and other animals. Last night’s St Bede’s production wowed audiences as we watched Mary Poppins (played by Maisie Hughes) fly over the Widnes skyline and then St Bede’s playground to finally appear at the door to the stage for a grand entrance! Equally impressive were the ‘on-location’ film sequences in the local park where Mary and Bert, in full costume and the two children skipped, danced and delighted the audience. I think the children will also have learnt a lot while filming this scene that Hollywood is not all glamour and that filming in a cold park, while it appeared members of the public had been driven in doors, requires hard work and dedication – which they had in this scene and throughout the production. A personal favourite for me were the opening credits where the audience were introduced to the cast through close-up film clips accompanied by their names. I loved the individual mannerisms which showed such an attention to detail and created moments of deft humour which were appreciated by the audience – ‘thumbs-up’ by the technical support for example.

Other great production touches included the smoke machine and great costumes all round including Mary’s dress in the park which was fabulous as was Bert’s striped blazar plus the policeman’s uniform; I could go on. The filmed backdrop projections for the various scenes meant there was less need to have props which resulted in an uncluttered huge long stage which allowed the whole cast to get on and off stage quickly for the big numbers without breaks in the dramatic action. Having the main actors ‘miked-up’ meant we heard every word they said and the live music projected through the sound system gave the production the vitality that a live musical needs (so much better than tapes) – I loved the post horn which announced the arrival of the fox hunters and their dash around the hall made good use of the space and added ‘comic capers.’

The big numbers were very memorable; I have two favourites which demonstrate contrasting moods. ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ was a crowd pleaser and a crowd stopper! The children used their letter paddles expressively throughout the song and then, to the rhythm of the music, spelt out the word. In contrast, the quiet duet between the bird women, leading into the short sequence where Julie Andrews sings ‘Feed the Birds’ and the ballet dancers bringing those bird movements to life, was a moment of quiet reflection. Both were moments Busby Berkeley, (famous choreographer for our younger readers under the age of 40) would have loved.

During my moment of quiet reflection I wondered who had decided on Mary Poppins for the school production. Full of great songs and some nostalgia it also touched upon some tough, modern day themes including: equality for women, busy working parents with limited time to spend with their children, bankers who want you money to invest (2p in this case!), the rich v the poor and safeguarding – should you let a chimney sweep you don’t know look after your children for the afternoon because your hired nanny has gone missing and you have a meeting to attend? Enough of social realism and back to this production. ‘Movember’ – growing your moustache for charity was topical with this first night taking place just at the end of November and the male members of the cast displaying a variety of styles including the handlebar and the odd dictator.

The main characters were all very strong – Mary Poppins ‘owned’ the stage – she didn’t rush her lines and her tone and mannerisms matched the character of Mary Poppins perfectly.  Bert had a great singing voice and clear speaking voice – much better than Dick Van Dyke! He had very good chemistry with Mary Poppins. Mr Banks provided good comic value especially after he was sacked from the bank and wanted to go kite flying. The whole cast including the choir all played their part.

Schools rightly focus on standards and we measure the progress children make but we shouldn’t forget Mary Poppins’ tape measure which measures equally valuable characteristics such as self- esteem, sticking at things such as learning lines and being and feeling part of something bigger than yourself. School productions along with residential visits are what memories are made of for parents and children; just note the parents taking photographs last night against the chimney set to capture the moment.

As the technology advances how many years will it be before our new St Bede’s directors of school productions invite us, as the lights go down, to put on our virtual reality headsets and then marvel as we too fly alongside Mary Poppins.

However, maybe the real magic was already here - tonight as witnessed in the gleam in the children’s eyes at the end of the performance:  it was live – it could have gone wrong but it went really well - they know they did their and that the audience loved it and we all got to share in the experience – now that’s what I call magic – Thank you!

Dave Woodhouse

(Junior Reporter for Entertainment Section) and Educational Consultant to the School