Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Performed at Chelmsford Theatre on Wednesday 21st May 2025 at 7.30 pm

 

This was another triumph for Young Gen. Sallie Warrington and her team have once again brought flair and imagination to the stage. The relatively open stage worked well for a cast of just over 50 young people who were disciplined and engaged throughout the performance. The band were under the baton of Bryan Cass and made a good sound but were too loud in places so we lost some of the clever script. There were a number of different genres of music appropriate to the characters and Sallie’s choreography reflected them all. As is often the case there is a dark edge to Roald Dahl’s story and the directorial decisions made ensured the storyline was suitable for the ages of the performers and the audience.

 

Gene Gardner as Willy Wonka, coped well with the difficult job of being emotionally removed from the other characters while still appealing to the audience. He showed good physicality and managed the back to front dialogue with confidence. Unfortunately his opening speeches were overshadowed by the band.

Charlie Bucket, played by Josh Burtenshaw, was a bundle of enthusiasm and warmth and had excellent diction. We cared about him and enjoyed an emotional response to his performance. Charlie’s loving but grieving mum was a mature and moving performance from Olivia Surgett.

Elliott Greaves gave us a twinkly, mischievous Grandpa Joe and the other Grandparents – Finley Adams, Gingerlily Mohammed and Bethany Irvine- made a great team with lovely comic timing.

 

Mrs Gloop and her greedy son, Augustus, played by Harriet Blythe and Tobias Dodson, also demonstrated a clear understanding of the humour and More Of Him to Love was lots of fun.

Sam Acton had a great Russian accent as the flashy oligarch, Mr Salt, and Georgia Holmes moved beautifully and screamed outrageously as his spoilt daughter Veruca. I particularly enjoyed the strong New York based accents of Mrs Teavee, Phoebe Hooper, and her techno addict son, Mike, played by Oscar Kalair. Phoebe’s song, That Little Man of Mine was a real moment of acting through song, but again some of the lyrics were lost. The Beauregardes, Edith Clements and Daisy Middleton were suitably brash and unpleasant in their characters and danced well.

Jerry, Freddie Estall, and Cherry Sundae, Bella Dorey, gave us more humour, especially when Cherry thought they were ‘off air.’ The witty script came through in Alex Davey’s portrayal of Mr Green the vintage vegetable seller.

The ensemble moved well together, the Oompa Loompas managed to be both amusing and menacing, the Divas were Pop-tastic and the Squirrels were definitely not your normal fluffy garden visitors!

 

The first image as the curtain rose was striking and there was a cartoon style to the overall look which matched well with the colourful and at times beautiful lit up backcloth. On the opening night there was one long blackout when a large piece of furniture came on in act two, it also created quite a bit of shuffling over for the Oompa Loompas, but I’m sure this would have been sorted out for the next performance. The crowded bed with its various props was thoughtfully done, I found myself looking for a chamber pot.

The costumes were clever and added to the cartoon effect as they were nearly all blocks of colour and very few patterns were seen. I enjoyed the attention to detail, such as Grandpa Joe’s medals, the flippers and googles and the change of edging on the white dungarees, the many wigs also helped the professional finish.

The sound effects of bubbling pots, explosions and the voice of Tiny Mike Teavee made an impact, as did the use of lighting to split the stage between Charlie’s house and the Candy Store in act one.

 

The sense of teamwork was obvious in this performance. We were warmly welcomed as always and we both really enjoyed the evening. I hope you continue to enjoy yourselves and entertain your audiences.

 

 

 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.