The new musical adaptation based on the Disney film is touring the UK now – but what have critics had to say about it?
WhatsOnStage: **** ” With plenty of magic and wonder, spellbinding illusions and a shining cast, this new take on a classic is certainly bobbing along rather nicely.”
The Guardian: ** “Bedknobs and Broomsticks seems a touch cumbersome but it may yet begin to bob along as it proceeds on tour.”
The Reviews Hub: **** “Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a work in progress and no doubt will evolve over time. The opening night performance was generally slick, professional and most importantly magical, and while some slight issues with the script can be (and should be) ironed out, the overall aim of the show is to entertain, enchant and enthral – which it manages to do extremely well.”
iNews: *** “The production by Candice Edmunds and Jamie Harrison twinkles with ingenuity – and Harrison’s sets and illusions (he also worked on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) are genuinely jaw-dropping.”
Broadway World:***** “when all is said and done, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a whimsical theatrical triumph. And if you, like this writer, faced the age of not believing long ago, it’s high time we remembered to embrace the child within and start believing in the healing power of live theatre once again.”
The Arts Desk: ***** “Brian Hill’s new book and Neil Bartram’s additional songs blend with the source material so well that you can’t see the joins.”
The Stage: ***** “Dazzling adaptation of an overlooked Disney film that brims with magic.”
The Times: **** “What you fear, at a show like this, is the original but less so. What its British directors, Candice Edmunds and Jamie Harrison, do is give us a theatre show that looks thrilled to be a theatre show.”
The Daily Mail: *** “Truth be told, it’s a little too dependent on magic. A mash-up of Mary Poppins and The Wizard Of Oz, with touches of Narnia, Candice Edmunds’s lively production tries to plump up the slightly flimsy plot with a constant procession of props – including clouds and trees above and below the flying bed.”
The Telegraph: **** “what must be the most sumptuous-looking touring show of the year, Bedknobs and Broomsticks brings to life a film that has delighted many since its 1971 premiere but has never had its moment of definitive creative realisation….”
Fairy Powered Productions: ***** “Marvellously magically, creatively choreographed and sensationally staged it was definitely worth the wait.”
A Younger Theatre: **** “Ultimately though, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a family show that takes us away from the realities of a world still searching for answers and into one that might not make sense at first, but takes you far away, deep into the wonders of your imagination. I don’t know about you, but even as an adult, that is something I still need from time to time.”
Express.co.uk: *** “the show finds real enchantment in the cleverly reworked ending which packed a rather unexpectedly emotional punch.”
Bedknobs and Broomsticks continues to tour the UK until the 1st May 2022.