Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Being one of my favourite childhood films it was brilliant to be able to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on stage and performed by Darlington Academy of Performing Arts, a show combining their Youth and Adult Sections and it certainly did not disappoint.

Before I mention the production, I must mention the quality of the visual side of the show. For this production to be effective the set, costumes, special effects, and props need to be excellent, and they were in every aspect. 

The costumes were fantastic, from the matching Oompa Loompas, the detailed character costumes, Charlie’s scarf right through to the iconic Willy Wonka costume, everything was bright, detailed and incredibly effective. The staging was really well planned with a raised platform working well for the grandparent’s bed, the bookcase style candy shop doubling up as the factory gates and all the entrances throughout the Theatre being used pulling the audience into the action.

The special effects and props really brought the show to life, all the factory contraptions either had smoke or lights bringing them to life, the candy and chocolate detail was beautifully detailed and the elevator in the finale was excellent with smoke below matching the lit up boxed elevator to really create some magic. All this detail matched with a great lighting plot to create a lovely setting for the performance. Huge well done to all the DAPA Tech Team and to Liam Pattison, Nic Marlor and Phoebe Carr who kept the technical side of the show running smoothly and without a hitch.

Now we all know the famous Roald Dahl story but what I did not realise is that except for the Oompa Loompa scenes there is not a lot of Junior or Adult ensemble work. Directors and Choreographers Joanne and Paul Mason did well to create more involvement and utilise their membership by bringing in some extra dance numbers in some of the solo pieces.

The Bavarian Sausage dance in the Gloop number was an excellent piece of comedy choreography whilst the ballet scene in Veruca Salt’s number was really effective. I also really liked how the number went up tempo for the Mike Teevee and Violet numbers. All the ensemble, both Junior and Adult, gave each number great life and energy and with many of them standing out, the principal roles are in safe hands for future shows.

Of course, the Oompah Loompah’s are about as iconic as any chorus in any film or show and both the adult members, in the standout costumes and the Juniors in bright green wigs and silver suits all embraced the roles. Adding great depth and comedy to the factory scenes, they bounced off each other excellently showing great understanding in acting ‘off script.’

Keeping control of the pace of the production and barely off stage was Paul Mason as Willy Wonka. A really hard role to play as everyone will remember the Iconic Gene Hackman from the film (we do not mention Jonny Depp!) and Paul did a wonderful job handling all of the many personalities of this character. He gave us lots of different sides to Wonka, from the slightly crazy and almost schizophrenic factory owner to a much softer and quieter, almost father-like figure to Charlie. His little inflections in his speech and facial reactions were perfect for the role. There was a calmness to his main numbers Candy Man and Pure Imagination that fitted the numbers really well whilst he managed the alter ego of Candy Shop owner scenes with Charlie well with some brilliant funny timing.

Charlie was played on the night I attended by the excellent Lucie Bell, right from the off it was clear that Lucie understood her character, her performance took us from a shy and nervousness character and as he story line unfolder so did her confidence which was excellent. Her vocals were brilliant and her story telling was so in-depth and believable. Her duet “A Letter from Charlie Buckett” with Rebecca Richmond as Mrs Buckett was vocally beautiful as was “If Your Father Were Here” where Rebecca again got to demonstrate her impressive vocals. Rebecca really nailed her characterisation portraying the caring mum whilst really pulling on the audience’s heart strings of the selfless and hard-working character.

Also creating the family pictures were the grandparents Josephine, Georgina and George played by Louise Marquiss, Kathryn Gibson, and Emma Sorrie. They were all excellent and although pretty much in the background (in their raised bed) never stopped acting and really delivered their lines effectively when called upon.

As the only Grandparent to get out of bed and a crucial character in the story, Grandpa Joe was played by Julian Pinkney who delivered a lovely, slightly bonkers, and idiotic Joe. His connection with Charlie was lovely and he bumbled and bimbled his way through all the scenes in perfect character.

Now once the action moves towards the ticket winners the pace really picks up in the show and thanks to our amazing TV Hosts, Jerry, and Cherry the scenes whizzed along at a great place with great intros from this dynamic duo. Alfie Austin was the charming male host introducing his onset co-host Cherry played by the excellent Scarlett Clark. She really made the most of these short snippets oozing grace and charisma. Her accent was brilliant and played the role perfectly.

These mini scenes to follow all introduced us to our Winners and on the night I watched I got to see Violet Springett as Augustus Gloop, Chloe Gowling as Veruca Salt, Leah Sorrie as Violet Beauregarde and Anna Spencer as Mike Teevee and they were all excellent, all understanding their characters and delivering showstopping moments.

Violet as Augustus was so great to watch, draped in sausages her scenes with her mum played by Nicola Broadhurst were great. The tone in her voice was lovely as they sung “More of Him to Love” and she was the perfect greedy little Germanic character. The lack of will power to avoid eating in the factory and her ultimate demise was hysterical as were the reactions from Nicola.

Chloe Gowling was the perfect spoiled and tantrumming little princess. The high-pitched squeals and foot stomping was excellent. Her delivery in ‘When Veruca Says’ alongside the very suave and strait-laced Marcus Coverdale was great to watch as she showed off in front of her ballet dancing ensemble. Despite the cheeky smile and brattish attitude, you could not help but feel a little bit sorry for her as she is traumatised and destroyed in the menacing squirrel scene.

It was great to see Leah Sorrie as Violet, this young actress has often stood out in the ensemble for me so it was lovely to see this powerhouse of a vocalist smash out her number, The Queen of Pop alongside her mum played by Camryn Mason. The two of them rocked the stage in this disco number and the connection between them was almost as slick as the little fist bump routine they had devised. She kept perfectly in character and as she leapt from side to side in her ever-growing inflatable Violet costume had us in stitches right up until finally exploding all over the stage - more great effects from the show.

Finally, we had quite possibly the coolest character on stage, Mike Teevee played by Anna Spencer. She did brilliantly to stay in character, almost oblivious to everything going on around her and ignoring her mum played by the really stylish Cathryn Lee. The sulks over wi-fi and lack of signal were brilliant and the laid back and nonchalant attitude was perfect. This chilled out style gave Cathryn as Mrs Teevee the perfect platform to shine and shine and she did. The characterisation was excellent with a wonderful accent to match, and she really owned the stage and scenes she was in. 

The whirlwind of a story took us through each and every factory scene with the special effects matching excellent character portrayals and some lovely direction and choreography and we all felt truly inside the scenes. Paul and the cast kept the scenes moving along at a lovely pace and the numerous interjections from the Oompa-loompa’s brought light relief and humour, especially when the chorus of squirrels took over the stage.

Overall, the whole production was a great success with special and visual effects matching some excellent performances and a brilliantly energetic ensemble. I wished that my diary could have allowed me to see the other cast members but I am sure, just like the glass elevator they will have shone and risen to the occasion. Well done, Joanne and Paul, and everyone behind the scenes at DAPA on another excellent production and I cannot wait to see Elf the Musical in December, another one of my film favourites!

 

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