We love hearing and sharing stories of what our students (and staff!) get up to in the community, and Lizzie, Evie, Nelson and Miss Walker from Wallingford School, and Harry, Raffy and Mr Watts from Brightwell cum Sotwell CofE Primary School, have kindly shared their experiences of being involved in the Corn Exchange, Wallingford, production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang cast consisted of over 20 adults and 2 ‘teams’ of children. Three of these are Wallingford School students, who developed their acting and dancing skills tremendously. The cast rehearsed for well over 6 months before the show was performed at the Corn Exchange, Wallingford from 13th-23rd March. We were very lucky to have Rob Alderton as the Musical Director and, as the owner of Chitty Hire, we had the real stage car, and it really flew!
It has been brilliant to see this show come together in the last month and be involved with bringing it to life.
- Miss A Walker, Teacher of DT at Wallingford School & Stage Manager at Corn Exchange Wallingford
This ‘truly scrumptious’ performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has been one of the best experiences of our lives. Although rehearsals were intense, the cast has been amazing, along with the fabulous behind-the-scenes team and the great friends we made along the way.
This experience opened a new world for us with a whole new level of professionalism. We were so impressed by the high quality of the cast, and loved meeting people who share the same passion for theatre. We couldn’t believe the amount of work that went into this show and it more than delivered a great experience. While the cast are phenomenal, we’d be amiss not to mention the amazing set which really tied the performance together.
Lastly, we would love to thank the directors, Rob Alderton and Caroline Malnick, for letting us be a part of this show, along with everyone else who helped make Chitty Chitty Bang Bang so exciting and extraordinary.
- Lizzie (Year 11), Evie (Year 10) & Nelson (Year 7), Wallingford School
I am not a fan of performing in musicals – mainly because my singing voice, while loud, is not a tuneful melodious one. More like a foghorn than anything else. This is why I didn’t audition for a part in Chitty when the opportunity arose.
But then the director came to me and said she was desperate for someone to play the part of Lord Scrumptious – they needed a big, tall, bearded man. Everyone say “typecasting”. But I’m a sucker for flattery and so I said yes.
I only started rehearsing in mid-January when the rest of the cast had been doing so since August. I was blown away by how good they all were – and very envious, as I always am, of people that can sing beautifully with seemingly little effort. I also ended up being a part of the stage crew each night as well as the Airship Wrangler.
The whole production was incredible to be a part of. The amount of set and props we had to manoeuvre into place was almost at the edge of what the Corn Exchange can cope with, not least of which was the half-ton Chitty car itself plus its hydraulic flying rig. It is the biggest show ever put on at the Corn Exchange and certainly the biggest cast. I am so proud of having been a part of it and I’ve even started singing lessons to train my unruly vocal chords. I quite fancy Mary Poppins next…!
- Mr Watts, Year 5 & 6 Teacher, Brightwell cum Sotwell CofE Primary School
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was amazing! I loved playing the part of Jeremy and getting to ride in a flying car. Being on stage with a microphone and getting to sing in front of so many people was the best!" - Harry
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was so much fun. I loved singing in front of so many people and meeting lots of new people. I loved it so much! It's the best!" – Raffy
“I was lucky enough to go and see an evening performance and I was absolutely blown away by it as it was every bit as good as a West End Show!! I know an incredible amount of hard work from everybody went into making it what it was but to our boys in particular - I am SO incredibly proud of you both, my heart could burst!!” - Ms Potts, Headteacher, Brightwell cum Sotwell CofE Primary School