Charlie and The Chocolate Factory the Musical
Johan Person
Escaping to the world of pure imagination.
The UK and Ireland tour of the new production of the west end and Broadway smash hit Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – the musical has finally come to Norwich Theatre Royal, based on the novel by Roald Dahl and the Warner Bros. film. The tour started at Milton Keynes Theatre in February after a Christmas season at Leeds Playhouse, now joining us in Norwich the cast have already performed successful shows in Aberdeen and Edinburgh.
The show needs no introduction, we all know the tale of young Charlie Bucket and the mysterious confectionary wizard, Willy Wonka. When Charlie finds one of the five golden tickets to the Wonka Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the four other winners can’t wait to indulge and feast on the sweets of their dreams. Beyond the gates they discover something more than just your average factory; they embark on an extraordinary journey and soon learn that nobody leaves the same way that they arrived…
I was really excited for this show, and it did not disappoint! Once I sat down, there was a buzz throughout the theatre, all generations had gathered to watch this spectacular show. Within this version of the show the role of Charlie is shared between two boys and two girls, meaning that the character’s gender changes with the actors. During this Norwich show Noah Walton played the role, he was perfect for the role, sweet and kind-hearted just like Charlie Bucket we all know and love. The show started with Charlie wandering around a mountain of rubbish finding items to bring back to the 4 grandparents. The set design was impeccable, and the attention detail was incredible.
During the first half of the musical, we followed the journeys of each of the 5 children finding the golden tickets. After the announcement of the golden ticket competition, we saw Charlie have their birthday, the whole family was excited by the possibility of winning a ticket as they gifted Charlie a raspberry ripple Wonka bar. No luck unfortunately.
When a child won a ticket, the funny news reporter duo Jerry and Cherry came out onto the stage to announce the win. We see Augustus Gloop (Robin Simões Da Silva), Veruca Salt (Kazmin Borrer), Violet Beauregarde (Marisha Morgan) and Mike Teavee (Teddy Hinde) all win their tickets. Each cast member played their character amazingly and it was a lot of fun seeing their personality come through.
Within the second half of the musical the set changed completely, we were taken through Wonka’s chocolate factory with a giant screen and projector. I much preferred the second half of the show as the animations and projections were insane, it really felt like we were being taken through Willy Wonka’s imagination. The show had brilliant choreography throughout, particularly the Oompa Loompas. I was unsure at first on the Oompa Loompas, as for this tour they were inspired by robots!
There was many favourites throughout the show, I think personally my favourite was when Violet Beauregarde turned into a giant blueberry, the crowd was in absolute stitches.
The production was quirky, humorous and perfect for everyone. What I thought was really notable was Leonie Spilsbury(who herself is hard of hearing) was using sign language alongside her dialogue when playing Charlie's mum. When the cast were talking to Mrs Bucket, they also used BSL, I thought this was a really special touch to the show.
Overall, it was an amazing night, and I would recommend to anyone to go see it. The musical is on until Saturday 19th April 2023.
Grab your golden ticket now to also be transported to a world of imagination.
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