For Katie and I this is the end of our time with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The show continues today and tomorrow with Harriet and Harrison playing Jeremy and Jemima, and at 10.30pm on Sunday night, as the curtain comes down the 40 containers will arrive for the set, wardrobe, equipment and Chitty herself to be loaded into, ready to return to England. I will be leaving at 6am the following morning with the chaperones and the other 5 children for the 14 hour flight home from Singapore. On Tuesday I will be back to school, to return to my normal life.
It has been an amazing year; the nerve-wracking auditions and recalls, the exhausting rehearsals, the fun of performing in Southampton, the thrill of being chosen for Singapore, and most of all the incredible experience of going on tour with such an amazing production.
Thank you to everyone who made it possible - Julia and Maya for getting me started on the stage and encouraging me all the way - Claudia and Alexander for encouraging me through the auditions - Jo Hawes and Catie Entwhistle for choosing me for the role - Catie and Phil for teaching me so much about performing - Pat, Fran and Anne fr being great chaperones and tutors - my teachers and headmistress at Chandlings for letting me take up this opportunity - my parents and my sister Sasha for their support - and a very special thank you to my twin "Jemima", Katie Reynolds, for always making me smile!
About Me
- AdamH
- Hi. I am Adam, and I would like to share my experience of joining the West End musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang while it was in Southampton and Singapore. My most recent news is just below, and in reverse order. This blog will be a reminder of this amazing experience, and yes, I am getting help writing it; remember I am only 9!
Our last night .. nearly cut short!
With Richard O'Brien - The Childcatcher - on our last night.Friday 7th December was the last performance for Katie and I. Neither of us were looking forward to the end of the show as we would be saying goodbye to the cast and the sewer kids, and we knew we wouldn't get to fly in Chitty again.
But towards the end of the first act, disaster struck as they realised that Chitty wasn't working properly. Eddie and Martin from stage management started shouting "stop the show, stop the show" and Rachel, one of the other stage managers, hit the button to drop the curtain.
The audience were told to stay in their seats and we were taken to Goran and Boris (the spies) quick change room just behind the stage. We waited and waited, and we were both really worried that the show would be cancelled and we would not get to finish our final show.
After nearly half an hour there was an announcement. "Please could all of the cast come to the sound box". We were told that they had fixed the problem, and the show could go on. Katie and I were SO relieved!
The rest of the show went smoothly. Katie and I found it very hard not to cry during the curtain call, but Pat had told us that we weren't allowed any tears. Children are only allowed to perform for a certain amount of time, and the delay had taken us to our time limit before the curtain call. For any other performance we would not have been able to take our bows, but because it was our last show Pat let us go on, but they shortened the curtain call.
As soon as the curtain fell Katie burst into tears and Kevin Kennedy took her off. I walked back to the dressing room feeling a bit sad that it was all over.
But towards the end of the first act, disaster struck as they realised that Chitty wasn't working properly. Eddie and Martin from stage management started shouting "stop the show, stop the show" and Rachel, one of the other stage managers, hit the button to drop the curtain.
The audience were told to stay in their seats and we were taken to Goran and Boris (the spies) quick change room just behind the stage. We waited and waited, and we were both really worried that the show would be cancelled and we would not get to finish our final show.
After nearly half an hour there was an announcement. "Please could all of the cast come to the sound box". We were told that they had fixed the problem, and the show could go on. Katie and I were SO relieved!
The rest of the show went smoothly. Katie and I found it very hard not to cry during the curtain call, but Pat had told us that we weren't allowed any tears. Children are only allowed to perform for a certain amount of time, and the delay had taken us to our time limit before the curtain call. For any other performance we would not have been able to take our bows, but because it was our last show Pat let us go on, but they shortened the curtain call.
As soon as the curtain fell Katie burst into tears and Kevin Kennedy took her off. I walked back to the dressing room feeling a bit sad that it was all over.
Raffles Hotel. Tuesday 4th December
Posh children in Raffles.
Harrison eating a disgusting green chewy jelly in Raffles.
With Harrison, Harriet, Harriet's sister Lizzie, reaching for the Christmas lights from the open top bus tour.My mum, dad and sister moved to a hotel off Orchard Road today just 20 minutes walk from our apartment.
They picked me up at 2pm and we went to Chinatown and looked around a Hindu temple. Most of it was in the open air and it was really dirty. We had to take our shoes off first but luckily there was somewhere to wash your feet on the way out. It was strange to see it so dirty as the streets in Singapore are really clean because there aren't many dogs, you get a fine if you drop a single bit of litter and it is illegal to have chewing gum.
We are going to Raffles Hotel for high tea in the Tiffin Room so my dad had to buy long trousers. We bought them in Chinatown and they look like pyjamas!
We met up with Harrison and his family for tea, but they wouldn't let his dad in because he was wearing flip flops. He borrowed my socks to wear with his flip flops and then they let him in. Tea was great and we tried lots of Asian food. Harrison ate a chewy green jelly ball full of disgusting soy sauce and sugar but he couldn't spit it out because he was at Raffles!
Before we went back we met up with Harriet and her family to do the open top bus trip up and down Orchard Road to see the Christmas lights. It takes 100,000 hours to put all of the lights up.
They picked me up at 2pm and we went to Chinatown and looked around a Hindu temple. Most of it was in the open air and it was really dirty. We had to take our shoes off first but luckily there was somewhere to wash your feet on the way out. It was strange to see it so dirty as the streets in Singapore are really clean because there aren't many dogs, you get a fine if you drop a single bit of litter and it is illegal to have chewing gum.
We are going to Raffles Hotel for high tea in the Tiffin Room so my dad had to buy long trousers. We bought them in Chinatown and they look like pyjamas!
We met up with Harrison and his family for tea, but they wouldn't let his dad in because he was wearing flip flops. He borrowed my socks to wear with his flip flops and then they let him in. Tea was great and we tried lots of Asian food. Harrison ate a chewy green jelly ball full of disgusting soy sauce and sugar but he couldn't spit it out because he was at Raffles!
Before we went back we met up with Harriet and her family to do the open top bus trip up and down Orchard Road to see the Christmas lights. It takes 100,000 hours to put all of the lights up.
Pink Dolphins!
Sasha, Niamh, Katie, Sam and I.
Watching the pink dolphins.
I have been really looking forward to today. We are swimming with pink dolphins! We had to be there for 9.15 which was a struggle as we are all used to going to bed late and getting up late.
We went into the lagoon wearing life jackets so that we didn't need to kick our legs to float. The trainer showed us how to teach the dolphins to do a pirouette, wave with a fin and do a somersault. We all had a go at being kissed, shaking hands and being towed along holding onto the fin. Then we got out of the water and did some more tricks, and the dolphin painted a picture by holding a paint brush in it's mouth. It was amazing.
Afterwards we watched a dolphin show, and then went back to our hotel, where we played in the pool all afternoon. It was sunny for the first time since my family arrived. I have got bruises from going down the pool slides so many times.
In the evening we had another go on the luge and then went in the cable car to the main land. It was windy and the cable car was swinging around a lot. It took us over the building site where they are building a new Universal Studios and a casino on Sentosa, and all of the diggers were still working even though it was dark.
We went to Clarke Quay for supper where there are loads of really cool bars and restaurants. Sasha and I wanted to go to a bar where you sit in wheel chairs or on hospital beds and the lights are like the ones in operating theatres, but my mum said that the drinks there were too expensive. We met with Katie and her mum and had rice and peppered crab for dinner in a seafood restaurant where they caught the crabs and the fish from the tanks in the middle of the restaurant and then they cooked them in a kitchen with glass walls so you could see them kill the fish!
We were all really tired but we couldn't find a taxi anywhere and eventually we had to go on the MRT to get to the apartment. Pat has been out for dinner to Raffles with some friends and they came back to the boys apartment for a chat with us before we finally went to bed at 11.30pm.
Sunday 2nd Dec
Katie and I were off today and we were allowed out at 12pm. I went to Singapore Zoo with my family and it was the most amazing zoo with virtually every animal in the world. The elephants had a big container of bananas hanging from a tree over their lake with only a little hole in it. They had to bang it with their trunks to get the bananas out and then fish in the lake for them. There were loads of different monkeys and chimpanzees. It took ages to get a taxi back and by then we were really hot so we went straight back to the hotel for a swim with Katie.
For supper we had the hotel buffet and I had 6 courses.
We are all allowed out over night tonight and it was so nice to go to bed next to my sister.
Sam and Niamh were performing today and there was nearly a disaster as a spark from the sweet making machine went into Caractacus's eye. They said he kept rubbing his eye for the rest of the first scene and dropped lots of lines which is not like him at all.
Marissa was off again so Kimberley had to play Truly Scrumptious again. Things always seem to go wrong on Sam and Niamh's nights; one night one of the dogs fell into the orchestra pit as it was trying to jump into the audience. It was one of the big Retrievers so it is lucky no one got hurt. Dogs aren't ever allowed off the leash in Singapore so they must find it strange to be allowed to run loose on the stage.
For supper we had the hotel buffet and I had 6 courses.
We are all allowed out over night tonight and it was so nice to go to bed next to my sister.
Sam and Niamh were performing today and there was nearly a disaster as a spark from the sweet making machine went into Caractacus's eye. They said he kept rubbing his eye for the rest of the first scene and dropped lots of lines which is not like him at all.
Marissa was off again so Kimberley had to play Truly Scrumptious again. Things always seem to go wrong on Sam and Niamh's nights; one night one of the dogs fell into the orchestra pit as it was trying to jump into the audience. It was one of the big Retrievers so it is lucky no one got hurt. Dogs aren't ever allowed off the leash in Singapore so they must find it strange to be allowed to run loose on the stage.
Seeing the show. Saturday 1st Dec
Katie and I are understudying the performing pair, Sam and Niamh, today but we are going to be allowed to watch the matinee with our parents as we haven't seen it yet. We sat near the back of the stalls and had a really good view of the whole stage. Niamh's mum cried as it was the first time she had seen Niamh on stage as Jemima.
We were all allowed to go out for tea together afterwards, and then we went to a shop that sold nothing but Croc shoes.
Katie's dad and brother fly home to England tonight and Katie's mum is moving to the Rasa Sentosa hotel where my family have been staying.
We were all allowed to go out for tea together afterwards, and then we went to a shop that sold nothing but Croc shoes.
Katie's dad and brother fly home to England tonight and Katie's mum is moving to the Rasa Sentosa hotel where my family have been staying.
Friday 30th November
Tutoring was cancelled this morning to sort out a problem between Sam and I. We will have to catch up on the tutoring with extra time next week as the authorities are very strict on making sure that we do 15 hours each week.
As well as our normal work Fran has been spending time with us all together since we don't have assemblies or anything like that her. She has taught us the capital city for every country in the world, all of the American states, the kings of England from 1066 and the works of William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters. It hasn't been that hard to learn as we are all good at learning our lines, and it isn't much different.
In the afternoon we went to a Padong restaurant near our apartment with Katie and her family, and then to Chinatown to see a Buddhist temple. Then we went on the Duck Tour again where they showed us Singapore from the water and the land.
Sasha is going with Harriet's family to see Harriet and Harrison in the show tonight as they have got a spare ticket. We all snuck into the pool at their hotel before they went. It is a really smart hotel but Niamh is staing there too and she says it is like Vulgaria as children aren't allowed in any of the restaurants except one.
As well as our normal work Fran has been spending time with us all together since we don't have assemblies or anything like that her. She has taught us the capital city for every country in the world, all of the American states, the kings of England from 1066 and the works of William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters. It hasn't been that hard to learn as we are all good at learning our lines, and it isn't much different.
In the afternoon we went to a Padong restaurant near our apartment with Katie and her family, and then to Chinatown to see a Buddhist temple. Then we went on the Duck Tour again where they showed us Singapore from the water and the land.
Sasha is going with Harriet's family to see Harriet and Harrison in the show tonight as they have got a spare ticket. We all snuck into the pool at their hotel before they went. It is a really smart hotel but Niamh is staing there too and she says it is like Vulgaria as children aren't allowed in any of the restaurants except one.
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