Lighthouse Theatre service manager Xavier Dannock said the call to cancel Chitty Chitty Bang Jr "didn't come lightly". It was originally planned for September 10 and 11, and would not be rescheduled, he said.

He said the young cast, in years one to six, returned to rehearsals "stronger than ever" in 2021, after COVID-19 forced the cancellation of last year's show.

"With a cast of over 50 children who devoted hours upon hours in rehearsals both after school and on weekends, as you can imagine, the decision to cancel our 2021 Primary Performers show of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr didn't come lightly," Mr Dannock said.

"With regional Victoria being plunged into yet another lockdown a fortnight ago, unfortunately, restrictions imposed meant a number of large group rehearsals had to be cancelled that we weren't able to make-up for.

"We want to thank all of the children in the program who have shown continuous resilience throughout this years' program, who all showed a great deal of maturity in these ever-changing times."

Plans for the 2022 show are underway. "Although this wasn't the outcome we were hoping for, we aren't letting this dampen our spirits, and we hope the children's spirits aren't dampened also.

"We have several shows of interest we are looking at running for our 2022 Primary Performers, and we are certain it will excite many of our upcoming theatre performers."

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