AD| We were kindly invited along for press night for the magical Bedknobs and Broomsticks performance. Get ready to be taken into a wonderful world of magic and fantasy as this Disney classic arrives in Sunderland.
For those who are not familiar with the movie, three children are left orphaned and are evacuated from a wartime London, they arrive awaiting for a miss Eglantine Price to come and collect them. To their surprise they find out she is an apprentice witch. The Stage adaption is slightly different from the original, however it still has some of the original songs such as Portobello Road, Age of Not Believing and the absolute classic The Beautiful Briny from the wonderful Sherman Brothers. There's also some new music and Lyrics from Neil Bartram.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks is just an absolute classic of a movie that never gets old, I loved it when I was a younger, Craig was also a fan and the boys thought the movie was great, so it was lovely to bob along to see the show.
The stage show is absolutely amazing, captivating and magical from start to finish. There was lost of gasps from the audience and lots of questions from Elliot about how did they do that!
The opening scene was fantastically dramatic and starts in an attic bedroom, taking you through to war on the London streets and then evacuation. The scenery was fantastic and very creative, each scene really made you feel like you were there, travelling on the motor bike, riding the train and in the Portobello market. Complete with a flying broomstick, flying bed and lots and lots of magic!
Dianne Pilkington brings to life the witchy, forgetful Miss Eglantine Price and she does a fantastic job. At first I thought she might have been a bit too young to play the part but after seeing her perform she is fantastic and does the part so well. I have seen the movie so many times I had it in my head that a younger actress would be wrong for the part, I was so wrong about that!
Charles Brunton plays the magical Emelius Browne, he is wonderful and really brings alive the character.
Connor O'Hare is playing Charlie and honestly he is just as cheeky as he is in the movie. I said to Craig on the way out how good was Connor O'Hare.
The highlight for us was the puppetry, which we just thought was fabulous, the bear was super cute and the lion was fierce. Elliot loved the scenes when Mr Browne got turned into a rabbit and all of the magic throughout the show.
What made the show so much better was the packed theatre and the clapping, laughter and gasps throughout. Performances were great, pitch perfect from start to finish and the children were ruddy marvellous.
This performance was quite long and started at 7.30pm with an interval and we were out by 10.10pm.
*PLEASE NOTE UNDER 3s WILL NOT BE PERMITTED*
The show is running until the 24th and tickets start from £13
To purchase tickets click HERE
When visiting the Sunderland Empire it is advised to arrive early to avoid the big queues, for Bedknobs and Broomsticks if you are late you will not be admitted until 12 minutes after the show has started. For parking you can find disabled spaces outside, and there are various large carparks close by such as St Mary's, Livingstone Road and The Bridges. If you are wanting to stop for food before the show we recommend for families
Halo Bar & Kitchen
No.12 Church Lane
Aperitif
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