Chitty Visits Nottingham — Nottingham Operatic Society

Chitty visits Nottingham before she flies to the Theatre Royal for Nottingham Operatic’s 130th Anniversary

The fantasmagorical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang visited Nottingham last weekend before she takes flight in October half term as part of Nottingham Operatic Society’s 130th Anniversary production of the famous movie musical featuring the titular flying car.

Chitty stopped by for a quick meet and greet with some of the cast of the show and her many fans outside the Theatre Royal and the Victoria Centre’s Clock Tower. On the hottest day of the year so far, people young and old turned out to meet the superstar car and smiles abounded as her engine rang out her iconic ‘chitty chitty bang bang’.

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The car is a replica, lovingly recreated from the original film version of GEN11, by theatre musician Rob Alderton of ChittyHire with help from vintage car engineer Phil D’Archambaud, and though she can’t fly she retains all her magic. And if people were unable to visit her in Nottingham on 9 September, she’ll be visiting the Wellbeck Estate on 7 October to celebrate a new exhibition of John Burningham’s Bedtime Stories. Burningham created award-winning children’s stories such as Borka and Avocado Baby, and illustrated Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for the novel by Ian Fleming which will be celebrating its 59th birthday just before the Nottingham Operatic Society production begins.

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Chitty also has a wonderful connection to Nottingham, as the original film car was designed by Ken Adam and Frederick Rowland Emett OBE. Rowland Emett is the ingenious designer of the Aqua Horological Tintinnabulator or, as it is more affectionately known, the Emett Clock which has sat proud in Victoria Centre since 1973. While Chitty wasn’t be able to visit her sibling directly on her visit, Nottingham Operatic Society are delighted to be bringing the two so close together for the first time.

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So get on down to meet Chitty, and then see her take flight from 25 to 28 October 2023 at the Theatre Royal Nottingham in the Nottingham Operatic Society’s 130th Anniversary production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Tickets are now on sale via the Theatre Royal at 0115 989 5555 or TRCH.CO.UK.

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