Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Roald Dahl’s timeless story of self-belief and childlike imagination has been brought to colourful life by Director Greg Snape and the cast and back-stage crew of Gainsborough Musical Theatre Society. Through song and dance numbers, we are taken on a journey of self-discovery as sweet-natured Charlie Bucket gets to meet his hero - the enigmatic and secretive Willy Wonka and the chance to tour his fantastical factory. 

Willy Wonka, played by Kaius Hart, is a troubled man.  He needs to pass on his wonderful chocolate factory to a worthy successor but who? He has been let-down before by self-serving employees and has lived as a recluse cut-off from the real world. Surely there must be someone out there like him an imagineer who can continue his work, but who is also honest and trustworthy. 

Wonka disguises himself as a sweet shop owner where he meets a young boy (played on this night by Harper Oliver) an impoverished child from a very poor family who seems to know everything about Mr Wonka and his incredible confectionery and the history of his factory.  Harper played the role of Charlie with winsome wide-eyed innocence, her eyes shining as she enthusiastically described the scrumptious ingredients of the chocolate bars oblivious to the true identity of the shop owner.  

Charlie lives with his mother and his bed-ridden grandparents, including Grandpa Joe (Zak Ball) who fills his head with tall tales about the factory. Mrs Bucket, played by Alice Broome, was the glue holding the family together providing their only means of income and gently trying to discourage Charlie from his constant daydreaming.  

Wonka decides to have a competition, with the lucky winner receiving a lifetime of chocolate - all they must do is find one of five golden tickets hidden in the chocolate bars.  Obviously, this sends the whole world into a frenzy and brings out the very worst in everyone.  As each ticket is won, Wonka and Charlie watch with disappointment commenting on the winner as they are interviewed by roving reporter Cherry Sundae (Paula Piantkiwsky) and Jerry Jubilee (Neo Blood) in the studio. 

Each lucky winner, and their parent are given a showcase song to reflect their odious personalities. The Gloops from Bavaria win the first ticket. Mrs Gloop played by newcomer Lydia Gregory and her overweight gluttonous son Augustus (Blake Hardy) accompanied by a chorus of Bavarian dancers.  The Salts were next.  Peanut magnate Mr Salt (Tanis Weatherall) and his ballet obsessed, over-indulged, spoilt daughter Veruca (Tilly Fenton). Then, Violet Beauregarde (Zarna List) the gum chewing, controlling, self-appointed ‘Queen of Pop’ and her self-promoting father (Ben Cowan) who lives for selfies and social media fame. Followed by the gamer from hell Mike Teavee (Harrison Bullough) and his ineffectual alcoholic mother (Kim Kostryca.)

Charlie becomes increasingly more despondent as each ticket is won but fate has a hand to play as Mr Wonka leaves a pound behind allowing Charlie to purchase the last remaining Wonka Bar from Mrs Green.  This time he is a lucky winner and runs home to tell his family and together with Grandpa Joe, who now has a new lease of life leaving the bed he had been in for 45 years, he makes his way to the factory gates and the adventure of a lifetime.  But would Charlie get his dream - or is there a grisly fate awaiting him and his companions?

The ensemble played many parts, moving the story along, including squirrels, members of the public and, of course, the enigmatic Oompa-Loompas, who acted as a sort of Greek Chorus commenting on the worst excesses of the children.  I liked the way that the dancers reprised their original dances wearing bright green wigs showing that the Oompa-Loompas had been there from the very beginning with each golden ticket winner.  Devon Riley’s choreography was excellent highlighting different styles and she even joined in as one of the dancers. 

Harper Oliver was wonderful as Charlie Bucket (also played by Arianna Grist on alternate days) she worked well with the other cast members and coped very well with all the copious number of lines with self-confidence and good storytelling.   She also showed powerful vocals as she delivered her songs with good diction so we could hear every word.  Harper also showed she could think on her feet as she coped with some of the tech problems not allowing them to interfere with her performance. 

Alice Broome brought a gentle and no-nonsense, common-sense attitude to the part of Mrs Bucket setting firm boundaries for behaviour unlike the other parents gently chiding him for his daydreaming and insisting he did his homework.  Her wistful, heart-warming ballad If Your Father Were Here was sung with tear-jerking sentiment as she outlined the life he should have had.  I also liked the way she hugged her husband’s photo to her chest as she sang.   She played her character with a bitter sweetness bringing real emotion to the role.  

Grandpa Joe played by Zak was a larger-than-life character (with a wig that made him look like Albert Einstein) who filled Charlie’s head with wild stories but was fiercely protective of his grandson especially when Wonka tried to swindle him out of his prize. 

All the children played their parts well. I loved Tilly as Veruca the petulant pocket princess you did not want to mess with! Tilly showed everyone exactly who was in charge pouting and wheedling as she tried in vain to persuade Wonka to let her have a squirrel.  Zarna was sassy as vile Violet strutting around the stage like a diva, and it was very funny when she got her just desserts! Harrison played self-obsessed monstrous Mike well, tormenting his mother mercilessly and trying to get one up on Wonka. Blake was funny as Augustus a small role which he made the most of with a cod German accent and a hilarious burp down the microphone.  

The parents were equally repugnant, their poor parenting skills resulting in their obnoxious offspring.  Lydia as Mrs Gloop, who over-indulged her son with copious amounts of food, was delightful skipping around the stage yodelling and she held her accent well. Tanis showed he was clearly terrified of his demanding daughter, with his face revealing his long-suffering attitude beholden to her random request and desperate not to provoke her volcanic temper tantrums.  His final scene running around the stage shouting for Veruca, who had been torn apart by trained squirrels, was very funny. 

Ben Cowan (who also doubled as Grandpa George) proved he was a triple threat with his singing, dancing and acting skills he brought energy and wit to the role of Violet’s father as he aggressively promoted her fame and status oblivious to her rude behaviour. Kim was delightful as the highly strung, stuck-in-the-50s, Mrs Teavee desperate for attention from her gamer obsessed son using alcohol to cope with his obsession with violent video games. Her song Little Man of Mine was delivered with energy and a powerful vocal belt. Ironically, she is the only parent who is rewarded with her son’s self-imposed punishment. I loved her witty comment to Wonka, ‘You should visit my factory.’

Finally, Kaius Hart played Wonka in the style of a trickster entertainer, smashing through the 4th wall with his knowing looks at the audience, holding court over everyone and masterminding the fates of the unwitting children. His relationship with Charlie was delightful especially as his secret persona teasing poor Charlie with Wonka bars and the bag of money. He even performed a clever adlib to cover an offstage mic being left on.  Kaius showed that he had a strong voice and was more than up to the task of the fast-paced Strike That! Reverse It. He seemed to take great delight in the gruesome fates of the children showing more concern for his factory machinery and falling behind schedule with his production line.  He even joined in enthusiastically with some of the dance routines. I loved his outfit of bright pink sparkly jacket, black and white spats and of course his trademark top hat and cane. 

Music was provided by Musical Director Simon Percy, and it is always a delight to see a live orchestra perform.  This was especially noticeable when Simon performed a spontaneous musical accompaniment to cover a technical mishap continuing valiantly until the problem had been sorted. 

The set was a backdrop of Wonka’s factory featuring the iconic gates with a grey palette for the first act which contrasted with the vibrant colours once inside the factory.  The Bucket’s house was a two-storey bed with the grandparents on top.  This proved to be problematic, causing poor Peter Troop the stage manager a massive problem with taking it on and off stage resulting in some lengthy scene changes.  However, as we did see the production on the opening night, I’m sure that the technical gremlins were addressed in future shows.  I liked the wooden-style confectionery cabin complete with an array of Wonka bars, and I was pleased to see David Dray’s incredible steam punk style Wonka machine being used again. 

Costumes were bright and colourful, and the children wore outfits to reflect their home country or personalities. Violet was dressed top to toe in purple with a mobile phone clutched in her hand, Augustus was in lieder hosen with a string of sausages around his neck, Mike Teavee wore a modern orange sweatshirt and a gaming headset, and Veruca wore a pale pink ballet dress. The Oompa Loompas wore white dungarees with ‘W’ for Wonka and bright green wigs like the ones in the original 1971 film. Charlie himself wore a pale grey woolly hat and scarf and patchwork jumper to show his poverty and Grandpa Joe had a jacket with medals and golden epaulettes. 

Props were used well. I liked the shopping trolley used by Mrs Green, the newspapers held by the grandparents and the dummy used by the squirrels to represent Veruca. Jeremy the squirrel knows a bad nut when he sees one!  Violet’s inflatable suit was appropriate to her fate as a giant blueberry but perhaps should have been revealed later as in its deflated state rather gave the game away!

Lighting was used well to create the Wonka factory, but I felt some moving gobo effects would have given it a more magical feel especially in the gaming part, but the sound effects were used well and despite some microphone issues did not detract from the show. 

Finally, a mention to the chaperones behind the scenes who ensured that the many children involved could take part in the show. 

Well done everyone on stage and behind the scenes, it was obvious that a lot of hard work had gone into the show.  It was also lovely to meet Chairperson, Catherine Hughes, Devon the choreographer and both Kaius and Harper after the show.  I look forward to your next production. 

 

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