Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

In my opinion it is almost impossible to write a meaningful report on such a demanding show, by the Rustington Players' Junior section, when the entire cast, with two exceptions!, is between 7 and 11 years of age.  On these grounds I am going to make this fairly short and will add a few well-meaning suggestions regarding your next junior production.

The most outstanding thing regarding this show was its brilliant back-cloth. I have seldom seen a more appropriate and interesting piece of artistic work and the perfect staging for this magical production. The technical side with the TV was cleverly designed but unfortunately went out of time on the Friday night. I hope it worked better the next day. I was very impressed that the children kept acting despite a few giggles. The illness of one of their ‘Leading Ladies’ also added to the problems facing the cast but was cleverly overcome. I really felt for the production team who ‘re-jigged’ well to cover the loss.

I thought all the young principals gave good performances, bearing in mind their very young ages. Charlie Bucket, played by Jamie O’Conner, showed great potential speaking his words clearly, the whole being well paced, with good facial expressions. Keziah Croucher was ideal for the part of Willy Wonka, with all the right movements and expressions. She is a young lady with a great deal of developing talent. Tegan, Freya, Tayler and Mercy provided excellent leads for the chorus numbers and the Umpa Lumpas obviously enjoyed themselves enormously. (I loved the CHOCOLATE number). All the other principals held their own often on a very crowded stage. Well done everyone. Keep acting!!

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