The Theatre Cricket

★★★★★ Nov 18 2024

The stage production of Mary Poppins follows the magical nanny as she transforms the lives of the troubled Banks family. With her unique charm and the help of her cheerful friend Bert, Mary Poppins takes the children on fantastical adventures while teaching lessons about kindness, imagination, and family. It includes many songs, including some of my favourites, ‘Practically Perfect’ ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ and ‘Step in Time’ paired with dazzling stage magic. Mary Poppins perfectly teaches each member of the family an important lesson, helping George Banks to embrace his role as a father, Winifred to find her purpose and the children learning many lessons of kindness, compassion and wonder

Seeing this show was really special for me, as in August 2022 I made my professional and West End debut as Michael Banks in Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward theatre in London. I played the part for 6 months and performed in over 40 shows as Michael. I love this show so much, and it will forever have a very special place in my heart. It was also around the time I was in Mary Poppins that I started this blog, so seeing this show after 2 years, and reviewing it comes full circle. That being said, I thought the show at the Bristol Hippodrome 3 nights ago was fantastic, and really brought me back to all of the happy memories from the time I was in the show.

Mathew Bourne and Stephen Mear’s choreography, is delightful, with many of Poppins standout moments being thanks to their inventive, creative, and grand sequences, like ‘Jolly Holiday’, ‘Supercal’ and ‘Step in Time’. In these numbers Bourne and Mear’s choreography is lavish and high energy. There are also slower and more simple numbers, like the mesmerising ending of ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’ and the beginning of ‘Good for Nothing’ in which members of the ensemble play young kite flyers. These two moments show the versatility of Bourne and Mear’s choreography from high energy and spectacle filled numbers to slower more contemporary based sequences later on in the show. 

The soaring orchestrations performed by a 12 piece orchestra led by Isaac McCullough (with whom I worked in Mary Poppins in London) was absolutely beautiful, and brought a tear to my eye at many points of the show. Bob Crowley’s set design is fun filled, and holds many surprises, with the Banks’ house opening like a dolls house, the Jolly Holiday park set coming to life and many more moving pieces of set floating around the stage. One thing I noticed whilst in the show was the detail in the set, it truly shows the care put into a major production like Mary Poppins.

The performances are truly what makes a show, and the ones I saw a couple of nights ago deserved 5 stars alone. Lucie Mae Summer’s portrayal of Winifred Banks was truly outstanding with her soaring vocals shinning in her Act 2 number ‘Being Mrs Banks’. Throughout the show she added a comedic side to the character I hadn’t seen before, which I really enjoyed. Mrs Banks’ journey through the show is a delight to watch, and Lucie Mae Summer was a perfect Winifred Banks. Michael D. Xavier’s stern and solemn performance through Act 1 was great but where he truly shined was in Act 2 where we see a softer side of George Banks Esquire coming through, with his later scenes alongside Micheal and Jane filling the hearts of the audience, and that rekindling of the relationship with his children is perfectly portrayed by Xavier. These two performers did a splendid job of bringing these layers and deep characters to life. Jack Chambers portrayal of Bert is one for the history books, with his outstanding dance technique shining through in ‘Step in Time’, with his mind boggling proscenium walk and fast paced tap solo during the number adding to the spectacle of the evening. ‘Step in Time’ on Friday evening (the night after press night) was possibly the best I have ever seen it, the fizzle and energy put in by every member of the ensemble was impeccable and Chambers led the pack superbly. Stephanie Jone’s portrayal of Mary Poppins was (get ready) practically perfect, her no nonsense attitude was grounded by her true care for Micheal and Jane and her vocals shone throughout, with her final number ‘The Task is Done’ bringing a tear to the eye of more than a few audience members. Her operatic battle with Miss Andrew showed off Jones’ soprano range with her floaty rendition of ‘Practically Perfect’ truly raising the roof. Mary Poppins is an incredibly challenging role, and Jones somehow managed to perform a 2 and a half hour show perfectly, without breaking a sweat, a testament to her hard work and dedication. Robertson Ay and Mrs Brill who were portrayed by Ruairidh McDonald and Rosemary Ashe respectively, were incredibly dynamic as a pair, they were lively and absolutely hilarious to watch. Mary Poppins has an array of supporting cast members who fill the ensemble, with outstanding performances from Patti Boulaye as the Bird Woman, delivering a moving performance of ‘Feed the Birds’, in duet with Stefanie Jones, Wendy Ferguson as Miss Andrew, delivering a terrifying rendition of ‘Brimstone and Treacle’ and Sharon Wattis as Mrs Corry, delivering a fabulously funny rendition of the character. But most importantly the ensemble of this show are just outstanding, performing in so many different roles, and learning the complex variations of the choreography. 

I’ve always said that Mary Poppins’ main characters are Micheal and Jane, and that their actor’s portrayal of them really matters. Mary Poppins is quite unique in the fact that it doesn’t use the children as props, to stand there like an ornament, instead it wholly incorporates the children in every aspect of the show, teaching them the difficult choreography and leaving many major plot points and themes in their hands. The two children portraying the characters on Friday Evening, Jude Martin-Thomas and Matilda O’Sullivan did a fantastic job with these challenging roles. Jude played Michael perfectly and his comedic, sweet and cute nature perfectly fits the part. I remember writing down in my notebook during the performance how funny he was multiple times. When I played Micheal one of my favourite things about the part was the opportunities that we had for comedy and Jude took advantage of every opportunity. Another aspect of Michael’s character I enjoyed portraying was his sincerity and Jude achieved this perfectly, with the his ‘I love you Mary Poppins’ scene bringing a tear to my eye. Matilda’s bossy and sure portrayal of Jane was amazing, and she served as a true match to Mary Poppins’ attitude, with Jane’s journey coming full circle with her being the one to introduce the idea that ‘Anything can Happen’ to her mother, Mrs Banks, and I think Matilda O’Sullivan did this flawlessly.

There were a couple of small changes to the show, with new lines added here and there, some changes within staging, like Micheal and Jane entering from a different side of the stage at certain points. I thought all these changes worked really well! The biggest change was a new section of the song ‘Anything Can Happen’, featuring the Bird Woman and Mrs Corry, which brought a smile to my face. After the show it was lovely to see some of the chaperones that I worked with when I played Michael Banks at stage door.

Mary Poppins is a breath of fresh air, and despite the cliche, is ‘practically perfect’. I urge you to watch it in Bristol, or catch it anywhere on its tour over the next year. Whilst watching I felt a sense of bittersweet, but I also felt, very proud, that I was a part of something so special.

Mary Poppins runs at Bristol Hippodrome ’til November 30, and then continues it’s UK and Ireland Tour through until the end of 2025. Book tickets here.