News Story
We are thrilled to announce the full cast and creative team for this year’s fantasmagorical new production of the iconic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Playing the role of eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts is Christian Edwards, who played Pilate in last year's epic rock musical, Jesus Christ Superstar. Lydia Louise will be joining in her professional debut as Truly Scrumptious.
Grandpa Potts will be played by Mark Curry (Blue Peter Presenter, Wicked at Apollo Theatre, The Rocky Horror Show for the UK Tour) and Susannah van den Berg (Fiddler on the Roof at the Barbican and UK Tour) will be returning to the Watermill (Oliver! and Spend Spend Spend) as The Childcatcher.
We’re also welcoming back a more few familiar faces to the Watermill, including Samuel Morgan-Grahame (Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar, Amélie the Musical) as Baron Bomburst, Sam Pay (Piaf) as Boris/Lord Scrumptious, in the role of Goran / Onstage MD will be Alexander Zane (Annas and Onstage MD in Jesus Christ Superstar) and Tasha Chu (Dance Captain and ensemble in Jesus Christ Superstar) who will be our Dance Captain and ensemble once again.
Director Paul Hart said,
‘We’re absolutely thrilled to announce full casting for this summer’s brand-new production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I know we say this every year, but this really is our most ambitious one to date! Following on from our shows in recent years, we'll be taking over the entire site to bring you the Watermill's unique take on this iconic musical. This will include the back lawn becoming a fair ground in which Me Ol’ Bamboo will take place in a tent outside. The designs for the car are also looking absolutely incredible!
We have had an epic time casting this massive piece, meeting incredible actor-musicians and building a wonderful ensemble. As part of this, we’ve met hundreds of talented young people from across the region who will be the absolute heartbeat of this show. We’ve also met an incredible array of recent graduates and have offered five ensemble roles to talented individuals for whom this will be one of their first professional roles. All of which has fed into creating a really special group of people who will be bringing this magical show to life.’
We're also pleased to be announcing our troop of incredible young performers who will be sharing the roles of Jeremy, Jemima and the Children of Vulgaria.
With music and lyrics by Richard M Sherman and Robert B Sherman, adapted for the stage by Jeremy Sams, and based on the MGM motion picture, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will be directed by Watermill Artistic Director, Paul Hart, who previously directed Jesus Christ Superstar and The Lord of the Rings. The creative team includes set and costume designer Katie Lias, musical supervisor and orchestrator Stuart Morley, choreographer Anjali Mehra, puppet designer, maker and director Marc Parrett, lighting designer Jai Morjaria, sound designer Tom Marshall, video designer Daniel Denton, associate director Eva Sampson, associate choreographer Vanessa Vince-Pang, associate musical supervisor George Francis, associate lighting designer and lighting programmer Sam Osborne, associate sound designer Zac Woodman and Elemental Artists, assistant designer Emily Nelson and assistant musical director Inés Ruiz.
