Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Once again Young Expressions treated us to a show in the middle of a heatwave! This did not daunt the audience or young cast one little bit. Apart from adapting the show to include 2 hydration stops in the middle of each act, the cast soldiered on through a very hot afternoon, with energy and a lot of enthusiasm. In fact, the sense of fun permeated the whole show and no one appeared to be flagging as they danced and sang their hearts out.

The story struck me as a complicated show to stage but Emma Jane Sweeney had thought through each scene carefully and her cast and crew were drilled perfectly to deliver a great performance. The recorded music benefitted hugely by having Musical Director Ian Southgate present on keyboards to supplement and support the singing and giving guidance for entrances to songs. The pace of the show was very good and the action moved fluently from scene to scene.

I must express my congratulations to the costume team, under the guidance of Jenni Brown, who presented us with beautiful colourful costumes and great special effects. Violet Beauregarde had a great blueberry costume, Willy Wonka looked magnificent and the mini-Mike TV was cleverly miniaturised from the normal sized Mike. The set was well managed and the Candy Cane props were fabulous! Well done to the stage crew.

The cast burst onto the stage, dressed in Cadbury chocolate colours, with an energetic routine to The Candy Man song. They continued to delight as Gum Chompin’ Divas and Oompa Loompa’s as well as squirrels and many more!

Willy Wonka, played by the talented Daniel Rust, assumed the crazy character with just the right amount of unpredictability and authority on the stage. He shone when he purposefully but half-heartedly asked the children not to mess with his machines. It was nicely underplayed and showed a maturity in his performance. Some fine tuning on pitching his notes will enable him to be a star performer in the future.

Xavier Kirk took on the role of Charlie Bucket and we all warmed to him and his predicament immediately. Alongside his favourite Grandpa Joe, played by Tom Stubley, they made a formidable duo who narrated us through the ins and outs of Willy Wonkas factory. Xavier is a lovely actor with strong understanding of the role he was playing and never appeared out of character. Tom, with his other OAPs in the bed, were very funny and I loved the way that they continued to chat amongst themselves whilst making hats out of newspapers for the party. Grandma Josephine was played by Evie Priest; Grandma Georgina was played by Niamh Parkinson and Grandpa George by Lily-Bleu Earls- Pierce. Isla Staples, as Mrs Bucket, was delightful and tried valiantly to keep the Grandparents under control whilst looking after the house. Isla has a lovely strong voice and her duet with Charlie in the song, A letter from Charlie, was just beautiful.

Now we get to the golden ticket winners. Mrs Gloop and Augustus, played by Phoebe Baladi and Millie Tattersall respectively, were wonderfully dressed in full German costume and sang their song, More of Him to Love, perfectly in tune and with a delightful performance quality. Their German accents were very good too. Veruca Salt, played by Juliet Stevenson, was a tutu-ed bossy, demanding young lady who bullied her dad, played by Sasha Pinder, unmercifully. These two young ladies showed just how confident and competent they are especially when delivering their song, When Veruca Says, at break neck speed. Violet and Mrs Beauregarde, played by Lottie Capp and Cora Ersser had some great dance moves for their song, Queen of the Pop. Both girls had great strong, tuneful voices and good characterisation. Finally, Mike and Mrs Teavee were played by Seren Hicks and Tara George. Both sang their song This Little man of mine really well and Tara gave a wonderful performance as Mike’s mum.

The cast looked amazing as the marching Oompa Loompas and there were some great dance routines with modern moves. They were so energetic and obviously having a lot of fun which is largely due to the positive, friendly and fun helpers and crew. There is always a lovely positive and collaborative atmosphere about Young Expressions from the helpful front of house team to all the parents involved in the making of costumes and chaperoning the children.

Lighting and sound, delivered by Ben Heywood and Steve Bearpark, was really good especially as they were giving an initial outing to the newly refitted sound and lighting set up at the Community Theatre. Their delivery was very efficient and, with the addition of a bubble smoke machine, gave the whole production a nice professional veneer.

My thanks to Sara Tattersall and Kate Capp, the Chairs of Young Expressions, for making us so welcome and overseeing such a lovely show.

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