"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" by Nottingham Operatic Society.

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

One of the first films I can remember seeing as a child was "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and can remember the film being completely magical. Decades later, all those feelings of magic flooded back with this latest stage production by Nottingham Operatic Society, who also celebrate their 130th year with this show.

The story of inventor Caractacus Potts, his two children and his father, Mr Potts senior. Caractacus saves an old racing car from being sold to the scrap man and works his magic and creates a car that can float and fly. Meanwhile news has spread to the Baron and Baroness of Vulgaria and they send their two hapless spies to retrieve the car for the Baron.

The spies Goran and Boris mistake Potts senior for the inventor and skylift him over to the Baron, followed by Caractacus, the children and Truly Scrumptious in Chitty, to Vulgaria, a place where children are banned and caught by the evil child catcher. With the help of the Toy Maker a happy ending for all is promised with just a little team work, to make the dream work.

Depending on which performance you attend will depend on the cast that you see as there are two teams, the Red Team and the Yellow Team, aptly named after the colours of Chitty's wings. I saw the Red Team, and knowing the quality of the actors in the Yellow Team, I just know that whichever performance you go to, you'll see a brilliant show.

Bara Erhayiem plays Caractacus Potts. His energy, sense of fun and characterisation of the loving father, who will do anything for his kids, is perfect. There was only one thing that I felt could have been bettered, and that one thing was something out of Bara's control. The equalization of his mic. Remember when vinyl was the craze? You could turn the treble down to make the sound muffled; well that was what it sounded like to me.

The other mics sounded great but just Bara's sounded like he was singing through a heavy cold or a plastic bag, and I really hoped that the sound crew may have also noted that and tried to correct it for the second half, but it was not to be. Apart from that I loved Bara's performance, and quite jealous that he was in charge of a car that flew into the audience.

Dan Armstrong plays Grandpa Potts. I've seen this musical a few times but until tonight, nobody managed to emulate the performance from Lionel Jeffries, who played the original film character. That certain eccentricity that Lionel projected was on stage tonight. And with the magic of the theatre, you also get to see Grandpa fly high in the air suspended under his shed and on his way to Vulgaria. Another excellent performance from Dr Armstrong.

Jeremy and Jemima Potts, Caractacus' children, are played by Leo Hollingsworth and Grace Hindle. Both the acting side and dance side of this pair of young actors are well documented in the programme; already both Leo and Grace have notched up very worthy theatre and tv credits. This explains the extreme confidence they show on stage.

Emma Shute plays the very aptly named character Truly Scrumptious. Emma's voice is like an angel singing, and the scene as the doll on the music box took me straight back to the same scene in the iconic film; I became aware of my jaw slowly dropping as I morphed back to my childhood self. Truly Scrumptious is truly wonderful, as is the pairing of Emma and Bara.

Simon Theobald and Kate Williams team up as the Baron and Baroness Bomburst, rulers of Vulgaria. This pairing of actors is also a brilliant directorial decision; it's not like it's their first pairing though, so straight away the chemistry is there, which makes their comedy scenes so very natural. The accents are excellent, the costumes for this pair are wonderful, and I love the line that Ian Fleming may just have left out back in 1964 when the book was written, regarding introducing toys into their marriage!! Oh yes, that panto vibe is alive and kicking in Vulgaria.

Boris and Goran, the super spies of Vulgaria, are played by Nathan Curzon and Alison Hope. At the risk of repeating myself, here again is just the perfect pairing for me; I am sure I'd say the same of Linda Croston who also plays Goran in the Yellow Team. Brilliant comedy and wonderfully over exaggerated accents, especially in the song "Act English".

Paul McPherson plays the Toy Maker. Again, a lot of effort seems to have gone into emulating the original film characters and to look at Paul in this role takes me back to Benny Hill playing the Toy Maker. He looks the part physically and even sounds like Hill.

James Ellison is the evil Child Catcher, a role that gave me shivers when I first saw this film, it still makes me feel uneasy today! From James' first appearance in this musical, which by the way is not actually on the stage, he made my flesh creep, which by the way is a compliment because again, I was transported back to being a kid and seeing this eerie, spindly, dark, almost spider-like character on the big screen. James really brings this character to life on stage especially with the look and the physicality of the character.

Loved the idea to bring both The Toy Maker and The Child Catcher on at the same time for the final bows because the appreciation was at opposite ends of the scale. The Toy maker received a massive round of applause while The Child Catcher received the sort of welcome for a panto baddie. This showed of course that both actors succeeded in their roles.

The ensemble were Abby Wells, Adele Lee, Amanda Dixon-Smith, Andrew Rushton, Antony Watson, Charlie Evers, Christopher Grantham, David Hails, David Hargreaves, Emme Gunn, Evie Midgley, Frank Nicholson, Ian Pottage, Jonah Williams, Kate Evers, Kate Taylor, Laurel Fiddes, Louise Fiddes, Louise Johnson, Neil Ledward, Nick Smith, Owen Patten, Paul Johnson, Richard Groves, Richard Kish, Rosie Poesl, Ruth Greaves, Sarah Thompson and Zak Charlesworth. And that's just the adult ensemble!

The Red Team Children ensemble are Alexander Forsyth, Betsy Stevens, Caleb Johnston, Edward Lewis, Eloise Rees, Frankie Smith, Harriet Lees, Henry Armstrong, Hermione Cumbers, Jacob Farmer, Jessica Griffiths, Josie Hollingworth, Leah Wrigglesworth, Mia Jacks, Olive Jefford, Poppy Callaghan, Samasra Peddi and Sophia Rees.

Directed by Andrew Miller, and after the incredible success of directing last year's "Hunchback Of Notre Dame", he returns to replicate that success. You can always tell just how good the director is by the appreciation shown for the final bows; well I think you could tell that Andrew did a cracking job this year as well. A show is only going to be as good as the chosen cast and matching that cast with suitable characters. Andrew's choices were immaculate. I also loved the modernisms that were snuck into the script, like the Bernard Matthews mention and the previously mentioned "toys" that worked on a completely different level, and I also noticed a nod to Lesley Gore's 1960's hit "It's My Party" from The Baron.

Choreographed by Justine Lee. This show has a very large ensemble; obviously not an issue for Justine because the ensemble numbers looked great. Scenes like "Me Ol' Bamboo" and "The Bombie Samba" were packed with energy while "Doll On A Music Box" was simplicity personified. Don't take this as "simple" because I imagine that lots of time and effort is put into making something look simplistic.

The Musical Director is Gareth Wynne, and what Gareth doesn't know about scoring a musical is not worth knowing. "Chitty" has one of those classic overtures that really get you in the mood for the show, and it's lovely to feel that excitement rise in the pit of your stomach, preparing you for the magic that will unfold onstage.

The soundtrack is packed with great songs. Apart from the wonderfully tongue twistingly title track, there's the gorgeous "Doll On A Music Box", the whimsical "Truly Scrumptious", the energetic "Me Ol' Bamboo", the sleepy "Hushabye Mountain" and the cheeky "Chu Chi Face".

I've said it before but anytime you see Tom Mowat's name in the credits, you know that the lighting is going to completely trouble free; and it was. And lovely to bump into Tom tonight as I've not seen him in a while, due to him being in such demand in the world of theatre. I must also mention Cathy Bohman and Simon Carter for their follow spot work; excellent as ever.

Michael Donoghue's sound, apart from Bara's mic issue, was as clear as crystal throughout. Maybe it was the mic pack that needs replacing; what do I know about the technical side of it?

So many brilliant costumes for everyone. The wigs and make up were excellent and teamed with the wardrobe provided that wonderful cartoony effect that makes this show such fun.

Don't forget to buy yourself a programme as well as there's a hidden pull-out poster that you can use for the cast to sign when you meet them at the stage door to collect autographs.

The Yellow Team will be performing at the following shows: Thursday 26 October 7.30pm; Friday 27 October 2.30pm; and Saturday 28 October 7.30pm.

The Red Team will be performing at the following shows: Thursday 26 October 2.30pm; Friday 27 October 7.30pm; and Saturday 28 October 2.30pm.

"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 28 October.