Review: Mary Poppins at QPAC: Practically Perfect!

Mary Poppins Review

I did not know that the author of the Mary Poppins book series was born only about 255 kms (161 miles) from where I sit today (Brisbane, Australia), in a sleepy old two called Maryborough (The name of the town probably has nothing to do with the name of the character that the author created).

Yes, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious indeed! P. L. Travers (or original name of Helen Lyndon Goff) was country author who created the magical and mysterious nanny and the show based on this famous character started its run at the Lyric Theatre at QPAC yesterday. It is a homecoming of sorts.

Most people will remember this nanny from the 1964 Hollywood adoption, made famous by Julie Andrews’s Oscar winning performance and the Sherman Brothers cheeky songs. In 2004, Cameron Mackintosh and Disney collaborated to bring the musical to stage at West End with follow up shows in Broadway and Australia. The Australian run started in Melbourne in 2010, and last night, it came to Brisbane.

And what a homecoming it was. A packed audience saw Verity Hunt-Ballard play Mary Poppins in a performance that was as much soulful as it was colorful. Matt Lee (ex judge from So you think you can Dance Australia) is the perfect foil as Bert. Simon Burke and Pippa Grandison play the Banks couple with intensity. But the audience favourite may yet have been Sally Ann-Upton playing the housekeeper, Mrs. Brill.

The show, is a must see, even if you are not a fan of live stage productions. Just the songs will make you want to hum along. The dialogues are crisp, the acting fluent and the clockwork precision of the theatrical production would have made P. L. Travers happy. Go see it!

All the details:

On now till Mar 17th 2012.

Friday* and Saturday 7.30pm, Saturday and Sunday matinees
Tickets $45 – $132.50

*Special holiday matinees will replace Friday evening shows on January 13, 20 and 27.

Wednesday and Thursday 7.30pm, Friday 1.30pm and Sunday 6.30pm
Tickets $45 – $127.50

Wednesday and Thursday 7.30pm (excludes 30 Dec to 4 Jan)
Family Pass
(4 x C Reserve tickets) $140

Wednesday 1.30pm
Tickets $40 – $90

The duration of the show is 2 hours and 45 minutes with a 20 minute interval.

Buy tickets at QPAC.

Hot Tip: If you have a child under the age of six, and if that child would not settle (as was our case), then make sure you ask the ushers to help you to go to the “Viewing Room”. This room is at the back of the theatre, has around 8 seats in a private sound proof box, and your child can make mayhem there without causing you to close your eyes and ears in embarrassment. You can still see the show, and hear it via a slightly muffled speaker, and you can go in and out of this room as you may please.

Also, if you have a child under 2, make sure to collect a free “Babes in Arms” ticket from the box office before going in.

CraftGossip attended the show courtesy of QPAC Publicity.

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I guess this isn’t exclusively a kid’s craft or learning activity (though cutting and folding are great for developing fine motor skills!) but I think kids would love having some of these printable holiday houses around the house or classroom to play with in the holiday season. Because they’re made of paper, they’re inexpensive to make, and while there is assembly involved the results are well worth the work.

If you have a cutting machine you can use the cut files from Delia Creates to make making your own paper village that much easier. She actually cut out all her buildings in different colors of card stock and used them to decorate a wreath, but you could also put them on the mantle or on a low table for kids to play with. Make a whole small world scene complete with fake snow, little characters and other elements, and kids are sure to start making their own stories to go with the setup.

This set of houses is printed and cut out using a craft knife. It’s meant to be an advent calendar, with each of the buildings numbered and you can stick a treat inside. But you could also just play with the buildings! You can get a free download of four buildings from Little House on the Corner, or head to the post to see where you can buy the whole set.

The Mavelo website isn’t in English, but their printable gingerbread house template is super cute to use as a gift box or to play with. If you need the instructions the website is in Polish but Google Translate seems to do a pretty good job.

Bora Illustrates has an adorable little house to print, cut and assemble featuring a cat, bird and gingerbread person. You could probably print it in black and white and have your kiddo color it, too.

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