Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

Ballywillan DG is one of the first amateur companies in N.Ireland to attempt “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, which ran in London’s West End from June 2013 till January 2017. It is a musical based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel of the same name. Music is by Marc Sharman and Lyrics by Sharman and Scott Willman. It opened on Broadway in Spring 2017 in a re-worked version, with children’s roles (other than Charlie himself) being taken by adult actors, which was the version utilised for this production.

BDG’s Set was backed by a video wall with platform in front of it and three illustrated portals. The picture on the wall was sometimes disappointing in that it could have been more animated – for instance in the chocolate room and cloud backing to the great glass elevator. Props such as the grandparents’ bed were good and Costumes by Utopia of Scotland were effective – I loved the Oompa Loompas’ extra ‘legs’ and ‘head & shoulders’! The orange make-up and wigs for them was also excellent. Lighting  was not always as good as I expected. Moving lights, special effects and hazing were grand but covering scene changes with partial black-out and light spotting the area of action was non-existent. The dry ice did not work to convey flight of the glass elevator as the escape holes in the box underneath were too low and the smoke fell downwards rather than rising to cover the elevator’s base. Sound and sound effects were effectively covered.

Having only seen this show once before (a professional production) I forgot that the first act is a little slow as all characters are introduced. Right from the beginning, Savannah Armstrong was a confident Charlie – she shared the role with 3 others on alternating performances - (as Charlie is a boy or girl’s name, she did not need to be a girl playing a boy!) She sang beautifully as the poor, sweet youngster who was desperate to win one of Willy Wonka’s golden tickets to tour the mysterious factory where her favourite Wonka bars were made. Savannah portrayed the humble  but very smart teenager and was convincingly amazed at the sights she saw in the factory. Alan McClarty was Willy Wonka, who began ‘in disguise’ as a run-down sweetshop keeper. On meeting the young Charlie, you could see him slyly sizing the girl up; and just before the end of the Act he sprang into life as the enigmatic factory owner. With lots of great lines of script, Alan revelled in the eccentric and mischievous role and brought quite a mysterious feeling to the unorthodox man. Charlie’s Grandpa Joe (Paul Sleet) who, Lazarus-like, leaps from bed after many bedridden years, displayed an impish character throughout and amazingly agile level of fitness ! He was as excited as his granddaughter to accompany her on  the factory tour prize.

Before the excitement, he shared a bed with Grandma Josephine (Olive Hemphill), Grandma Georgina (Lesley Reynolds) and Grandpa George (Harry Stinson).They were all elderly and infirm, but each had some humorous comments to make! Charlie’s mother was played by Clare Campbell – a hard-working widow who, although poor, was loving, kind and generous. Clare sang “If Your Father were here” in a lovely tender way. In the small cameo role of Mrs Green – seller of ‘past their best vegetables’ -Maelisa Cunning was a delightfully drole but very funny lady. Cary Jossart and Kellyann McKillen were two stereotypical reporters.

The lucky winners of Golden tickets, each accompanied by a parent, were introduced to Willy Wonka (and the audience!) and each pair revealed their character and subsequently each child met their downfall. Augustus Gloop (Patrick Connor) was played with a German accent and great energy. Patrick’s role was of a large gluttonous teenage boy and he played it to a tee with tremendous comedy! Mrs Gloop (Charisse McDowell) was his proud German mother – equally funny as a loud and overbearing lady who doted on her son. She was distraught when Augustus climbed into a vat and was sucked up the chocolate pipe ! Violet Beauregarde was played by Chloe Freeman-Wallace  - a rather rude gum-chewing and obnoxious girl who was blown up into a gigantic blueberry and eventually exploded - (loved the inflating fat suit!) Her father (Adam Goudy) was an ignorant man who thought his daughter deserved fame and was astounded by her demise. At the performance I attended an understudy to an understudy (Holly Carey) took the role of Veruca Salt! I would not have realised if an announcement had not been made, as she was word perfect (with Russian accent) and her ballet steps were wholly convincing. Veruca was an entitled and precocious girl who demanded a squirrel of her own and her father (Steve Setterfield), who was eccentric and a bit goofy, was horrified when the nut sorting squirrels objected and attacked her. The fourth golden ticket holder was Steven Miller as Mike Teavee who was addicted to his mobile phone. Although obviously intelligent, he was rude and domineering. He was drawn into a shrunken state inside a small television set. I don’t pretend to know how this was filmed but it was very clever – especially when his mother seemed to put her hand into the TV and pull out a doll sized version of Mike! Laura Fisher was Mrs Teavee – a stressed-out  mother who was bullied by her son. I loved her relief at retrieving him small enough to put in her handbag!

When all the horrible children had met their morally appropriate end and Charlie had not put a foot wrong, Willy Wonka revealed that he loved Charlie’s inventive ideas and had chosen her to inherit the factory. (We are even assured that the children will be recovered from their “accidents”)!     I love a happy ending!!

This was a large and expensive undertaking for Ballywillan DG.  Obviously, Director Brian Logan could not do everything he would have liked – professional productions have huge money thrown at them – but he really created a “world of pure imagination” well and delighted the sell-out audience. Andrew Robinson’s 12-piece orchestra was hidden behind the scenes with a monitor at the  back of auditorium for viewing from the stage. The show has many styles of music connected to the different countries represented which were well played and balance with the stage was always good. Choreography was well drilled, creative and well connected to the nationalities of the ‘winners’ when appropriate.

Having had their Friday evening cancelled because of the severe storm, James and I were glad that a Sunday matinee was added, and we were able to attend. Our trip to Coleraine was well worthwhile and thanks go to everyone involved, including Karen for hospitality.

 

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