Mary Poppins - Prince Edward Theatre

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Charlie Stemp is not using cables isn’t he


That’s a beautiful sentence

We had no problem at all with that - it's like a private box so not really restricted. I'm 5'8 and my friend is 6' and he had no problems at all. It's a great seat for the price.

Couldn't resist the first preview for this, having not seen it in 15 years: the narrative thrust still isn't as punchy as it could be, but only because it sometimes slows down to deliver the most colourful and characterful, exuberant and joyful, set-pieces. A joy.

Some spoilers follow. . .

As I recall from 15 years ago, this isn't all that different, apart from the casting. Well, Claire Machin's still in it, she's just upgraded parts, and she's as funny as ever.

For me, the casting is as wonderful as last time, with slightly different flavours.

Both equally magical and equally authoritative, Laura Michelle Kelly's Mary Poppins felt older, more maternal, a fairy godmother, while Zizi Strallen's Mary Poppins feels younger, more impish, a pied piper: the comforting embrace of Laura Michelle's Kelly's warm smile replaced by the mysterious enticement of Zizi Strallen's bedeviled wide eyes.

By the same token, where Gavin Lee's Bert felt more fatherly, Charlie Stemp feels more cheeky scamp, reclaiming the naturally youthful likeability and unpredictability he exuded in "Half a Sixpence," before his exuberance was overwhelmed by the rudeness of x-rated Palladium Pantos.

But where the magical characters have become more youthful in this new iteration, the parental characters have gained a measure of depth. David Haig's extroverted George Banks was always loveable, he just needed to learn not to be such a twit, like every other patriarchal businessman. By contrast, Joseph Millson reeks of introversion, like a young Brideshead era Jeremy Irons (who he physically resembles), radiating repression. This added depth to Millson's characterisation really worked for me, and reduced me to tears at one point, the only tears of sadness I felt throughout the show, as the bird-woman's sadness is understated in Petula Clark's likeable portrayal.

Millson's deeper repression has the side-effect of giving Amy Griffith's Winfred Bank's something to react to, and she does so beautifully, balancing the hurt of her mistreatment against the compassion of her understanding.

The two child leads, Adelaide Barham and Gabriel Payne, were forthright and flawless, with Barham truthful in her flouncing, and Payne provocative and funny.

The setpieces are a marvel, with "Jolly Holiday" and "Step in Time" astonishing, and the whole show: colour, movement and joy. This show is sheer Disney happiness, the kind that connects to the child in everyone, which isn't at all cloying.

Even at the first preview, 4 and a half stars from me.

PS: We were out at 10:22pm despite a three minute show stop at 8:10pm.

I was sat in the Grand Circle it was pure brilliance I cried so bad 😂

For those who like merchandise there are vast amounts to choose from, key rings and bags, hoodies, tea sets, umbrellas, aprons, teddy bears....

You will definitely get a better view from the dress rather than the back of the stalls.

I was there too in one of the loges stage right - assume you were sitting in stalls front row - was it not too close to spoil some of the illusions ?

Hi who was on as Jane and Micheal tonight. Hope the show went well.. I’m hoping to see it in January.

I’m in... 🧸

Good to hear..no neck ache then? I am in row b on sat eve...

I was in row B, all the way over on the left side, for the first preview, and no neck ache. I don't remember ever feeling like I had to look up, although you can't really see the floor of the stage. But I had a lovely close-up view of the actors and never felt like I was missing out on something - Step in Time was just as impressive from that seat. I don't know what pricing is like now, but it definitely felt like good value for £45.

I really liked both Zizi Strallen and Charlie Stemp in the roles, too - I could see it really well as soon as they announced the names, and it was indeed exactly how I had imagined it. Charlie Stemp's youthful charm and energy makes his Bert very lovable and a real joy to watch, and Zizi Strallen is a very pretty Mary Poppins with a mix of sternness and charisma, magnetic and mysterious.

I was hoping for an entertaining evening, and that's exactly what I got - entertainment, nostalgia, big, colorful, beautiful numbers, and the sort of theatre magic I really love. You can just vaguely make out the wires from the front stalls for her final flight, and that in no way distracted from the illusion for me - in fact I prefer it to more technically perfect illusions like projections etc. As someone who's never seen the stage musical before and last saw the movie maybe 25 years ago, I left feeling genuinely happy.

Supercalifragilisticexpialid-ursus?