Chitty Chitty to open with a big Bang Bang in Singapore

Adrian Noble owns two Mercedes cars and a Suzuki Vitara which he describes as an "old tank". But this 57-year-old British stage director's dream car would have to be something that can travel both on water and land. "It must be wonderful to drive to the seaside and (just) keep on driving," he told ChannelNewsAsia in a phone interview from Oxfordshire.

Sounds just like the star of the current show he's directing: The flying, floating car in the stage musical version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which will run from Nov 2 to 18 at the Esplanade.

The former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) - and currently "associate artistic director on paper", he joked - is upbeat about the production that is heading to Singapore after its recently-concluded run in Southampton, England.

He proclaimed it the "best possible version we've had" after adjustments were made through its four-year run in London's West End, across the United Kingdom, and on Broadway in New York.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is based on the 1964 children's book written by James Bond creator and novelist Ian Fleming about the adventures of an eccentric inventor named Caractacus Potts and a cast of equally bizarrely-named characters - the heroine Truly Scrumptious, evil dictator of Vulgaria Baron Bomburst, the Toy Maker and the creepy Child Catcher (played by stage actor Richard O'Brien, who is famous for penning the cult musical The Rocky Horror Show).

Not to mention, of course, Chitty.

"Mankind has wanted to fly for thousands of years and this is about that fantasy," Noble said of the flying car. Incidentally, the original Chitty from the movie will be on display at Bugis Junction until Sunday.

The stage musical is also partly adapted from the 1968 movie version that starred Dick Van Dyke. Children's book author Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay and acclaimed composers Richard and Robert Sherman wrote its memorable songs such as the Oscar-nominated title track.

Noble said that the movie was originally commissioned by James Bond producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who was looking for other works that Fleming had written. "The genius of this was to match the laughter, lightness and wordplay of the Sherman brothers' songs and Dahl's very dark presence in the world of children's fiction," he said.

What does he think of Fleming and the James Bond movies? "I think he's a very old-fashioned writer who writes great adventure stories," Noble said. "I enjoy the movies."

According to Noble, there's now a tendency to go back to the idea of the "book musical" - the Broadway tradition of interspersing dialogue with song - which was taken over by the idea of going "musical all the way" two decades ago. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang follows the original style.

Noble, who has helmed more than 40 productions including ones by Shakespeare during his RSC stint from 1991 to 2003, has had the chance to direct such well known names as Ralph Fiennes, Kenneth Branagh, Jonathan Price and Helen Mirren.

He thought it was a rewarding experience to see so many British stage actors going on to become Hollywood stars. "It's even more exciting when they return to stage," he said.

WHAT: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
WHEN: Nov 2 to 18; 8PM
(With 2PM matinees on weekends)
WHERE: Esplanade Theatre

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