What a fantastic trip to Vulgaria that was. All Saints Elton Theatre Youth brought Chitty Chitty Bang Bang JR. to Theatre Royal, Ramsbottom in June 2025, telling the much-loved story of inventor Caractacus Potts, his children Jeremy and Jemima, Truly Scrumptious and a rather extraordinary old racing car which proves capable of considerably more than getting from A to B. Add two spies, a ridiculous Baron and Baroness, the sinister Child Catcher and a trip to a kingdom where children are forbidden, and there was plenty for our young cast to get their teeth into.
Directed by Charlotte Crowley, the production gave our Youth Theatre the chance to tackle a big musical packed with familiar characters, songs and some fairly ambitious stage magic.
Theo Skorzewski led the adventure as Caractacus Potts, with Freya Dempsey as Truly Scrumptious, Jessica Simms as Jeremy and Frankie Armstrong as Jemima. Charlton Blood and Ava Kulyn brought the laughs as Boris and Goran, while Jacob Fleming and Jasmine Harris made the most of the wonderfully over-the-top Baron and Baroness.
Then, of course, there was Chitty herself.
The moment the whole company launched into the title number and the car appeared in all her glory, complete with bubbles, was exactly the sort of theatre moment our young performers had worked towards throughout rehearsals.
The second half brought us Lucy Jackson’s Child Catcher, Harper Lucas-Caine’s Toymaker and Freya’s memorable Doll on a Music Box sequence, before the whole company returned for a huge finale.
A production like this takes far more than the people standing under the lights. Thank you to the production team, backstage crew, wardrobe, sound, lighting, families, volunteers and everybody who helped get Chitty onto that Ramsbottom stage.
Most of all, congratulations to our young cast.
The car flew.
So did they.