Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

This was my first visit to NXG to see their play Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which has been adapted for the stage by Richard George. The group had had 8 weeks to prepare the performance, and you could clearly see the young cast had been working hard with artistic director Rowan. The play began with our news reporter who acted as a narrator throughout – played by Keira Gardener. As various characters were announced, they made their way to the stage from around the auditorium, including from in the audience too. There was great projection and diction for the actors. I really enjoyed the use of shadow artistry to tell parts of the story which was done with a small screen at the back of the stage. I also liked the use of music (created by Abey Bradbury for the performance). The music allowed the scene changes to flow smoother.

The use of costume colour matching really helped the audience to understand who was with which family and the minimal set and staging was an asset that really helped the audience use their imagination. A word of caution when staging, some of my view was blocked by the few items of scenery that appeared (for example, the tree that was brought on stage blocked Wonka for the majority of the scene). Lucille Turner shone as Veruca Salt as soon as she walked on stage with great characterisation and vocal skills. A very loud voice for such an unassuming young lady. Jack Schofield gave a good portrayal of Charlie. Lucy Haslam as Wonka had the audience hooked on the story from her very first wink. Lucy should also be commended for always being ‘in’ the scene by taking interest in what was going on around her – she was always present. Great chorus work from the families and the Oompa Loompas added comedy with their rhymes and gave great mischievous characters.

There was good use of motifs (both vocal and physical) including the addition of great comedy with Wonka’s boat that was created by the Oompa Loompas (with added sound effects). I also enjoyed the use of Total Theatre stylings for examplethe Oompa Loompas being the machines, the boat etc. Good use of physical theatre and soundscapes. There were at times, in my opinion only, too many things going onat times which because distracting to me. However, I did enjoy the squirrels at theback of the stage and was wowed by the gymnastic squirrel we encountered.The play had been brought up to date with the use of phones and Facebook live.The use of lighting changes really helped to understand what was going on andagain triggered our imagination, for example the use of violet colours as Violetstarted to change. This was added to by the addition of Violet’s blow-up costume.It was a pleasure to see the show with everyone interacting so well and a clearsense of friendship between the cast.

Well done to all involved and thank you for thekind welcome that I got.I hope to see many more of your performances in future.

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