Review - Mary Poppins

IT was inevitable, even if it was a very long time coming. Bids to stage Mary Poppins, the 1930's story of an enigmatic nanny with mystical powers, were thwarted many times over the years by the author, Pamela Lyndon Travers but she finally relented before her death in 1996 and entrusted her precious creation to joint producers Cameron Mackintosh and Disney.

To say they have done her proud would be a gross understatement. Mary Poppins opened last week at the Bristol Hippodrome for an eight-week pre-London run and it was sheer magic.

Playing the plain looking, plain speaking, no-nonsense nanny was always going to be a tough act to follow after Julie Andrews but Laura Michelle Kelly was almost, in the words of one of the hit songs, practically perfect.

Although she lacked warmth as a character - more true to the author's interpretation according to aficionados of the books - her singing voice was as sharp and clear as that of her alter ego.

Chimney sweep and jack of all trades, Bert, played by Gavin Lee, thankfully managed a cockney accent without strangling his vowels Dick Van Dyke style and David Haig and Linzi Hateley gelled very nicely as George and Winifred Banks.

The children are played on different nights by a cast of ten but Charlotte Spencer, 13 as Jane and Harry Stott, 8 were charming and charismatic.

The words of the songs, Chim Chim Cher-ee, A Spoonful of Sugar, Feed the Birds and of course Superfragilisticexpialidocious are by now as familiar to fans of the film as the alphabet so there was no hesitation in singing along and many did, undeterred even when they were tone deaf.

There were some fabulous special effects in the show and as Mary floated over the audience at the finale it was obvious this stage version of everyone's favourite story was going to be a spit spot hit. See it or be sorry.

Mary Poppins runs at the Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday, November 6. Ticket hotline 0870 607 7500