Review: Bedknobs and Broomsticks

(Image courtesy of bedknobsonstage)

5th October 2021

By Elle Summers

One of my all-time childhood favourites has flown into town over the past few weeks. Playing at The Marlowe Theatre earlier in the tour before heading to my hometown of sunny Southend-on-Sea, Bedknobs and Broomsticks was a musical wonder! Taking me back to my younger years, this performance truly brought magic to life, with Miss Price flying across the stage on a broom, passing right through parts of the set, it really was difficult to comprehend how she wasn’t honestly an apprentice witch!

For those of you that know the storyline, you can imagine the intricacies of the set design, from the Isle of No-Pe-Po (previously Naboombu, yes I am mad too!) to the spell of Substitutiary Locomotion, the cast of Bedknobs and Broomsticks blew the audience away. The range of talent from children to adults was crazy, with Vinnie Monachello’s portrayal of Charlie Rawlins easily stealing the show. Although I expressed my annoyance of the name change of the Island to my family, it did not take away from the brilliant portrayal of the animal characters, with life-like puppets being used on stage. The slick movements were eye-catching, with the people controlling the puppets easily blending into the background, adding to the realism of the performance.

(Image courtesy of bedknobsonstage)

Despite being a big family favourite, the children of the audience behaved themselves throughout, clearly as captivated with the magic on stage as I was. Apart from one minor heckle which had the rest of the audience awing as one kid called goodbye in response to a line on stage. Although the songs we know and love were intertwined with some altered versions, the performance was a good adaption, working well with the stage space available. Travelling to the street where the riches of ages are stowed, my favourite song of the show had to be by far Portobello Road, an elongated version which really brought the marketplace to life.

The ending of the performance took an unexpected turn away from the beloved ending of the original film. I won’t spoil it for you, but to say that it was heart-wrenching, really heightening the emotion in the theatre. It would be a lie to claim tears did not spring to my eyes.

(Image courtesy of bedknobsonstage)

If you have the opportunity to catch this magical show before heading back to Canterbury I would implore you to, especially if Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a childhood favourite for you too. The magical scenes, the nostalgia, the songs and the storyline will surely pull at your heart strings and transport you back to the age of not believing and bring you the sprinkle of magic you’ve been missing.