Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

Ellesmere Port Musical Theatre Company

26/6/25

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical is based on the famous book by Roald Dahl. Charlie Bucket is a sweet boy from a poor family; his idol is the eccentric Willy Wonka the famous chocolatier whose magical factory is in his town. Charlie dreams of finding one of five golden tickets hidden inside chocolate bar wrappers which will admit him to tour Willy Wonka's magical factory. One after another, tickets are discovered by ghastly children but will Charlie find the last remaining one and have all his dreams come true?

The story opens with Willy Wonka (Steve Griffiths) at the gates of the chocolate factory; he introduces himself as ‘The Candy Man’ a great song to open a show. Charlie Bucket (Dylan Harrison) lives with his mother Mrs Bucket (Carla Dymond) Grandpa Joe (Rob Turner) Grandma Georgina (Pam Watson) Grandpa George (Chris Legerton) Grandma Josephine (Joy Mackintosh), despite his family's poverty, and a very overcrowded house he is a very happy boy. His Grandpa Joe now housebound entertains Charlie with tall tales of his escapades of bravery when a young man, he is Charlie’s hero. As they are so poor Charlie goes every day to bargain for rotting fruit and vegetables from the barrow lady Mrs Green (April Hughes), one day he sees a bright inviting Candy shop. The storekeeper befriends Charlie encouraging him to experiment with different chocolate flavours which excite him. He tells Charlie that the famous Willy Wonka has released five special chocolate bars which have Golden Tickets hidden in the wrapper, and that he should come back when he has money to buy one.

The great Willy Wonka Golden Ticket goes global, covered by a designated TV channel; we meet delightfully cheesy hosts Jerry Jubilee (Ian Devereaux- Roberts) and Cherry Sundae (Laura Jones) who introduce the winners of the four tickets. Cherry travelled the globe to meet the winners from Bavaria, Russia, California and Idaho. Augustus Gloop a greedy boy (Archie Sprowson) and his sausage loving mother Mrs Gloop (Caireen Candlin), Verucca Salt (Freya Bevan) a spoilt Russian ballet prodigy and  doting father  successful businessman Mr Salt (Chris Pacitti), Violet Beauregarde (Miyah Murphy) a gum-chewing social media obsessed pop star and her gum-chewing mother Mrs Beauregarde (Liz Legerton), and Mike Teavee hyperactive tech genius who loves screens (Daisy Candlin), his exhausted flirtatious sassy mother Mrs Teavee (Hayley Dale).

Charlie returns to the Candy shop, but it is closed, turning to go home he bumps into Mrs Green, who miraculously finds a Wonka Chocolate Bar buried under her vegetables. Opening the wrapper at home the family celebrates as he has the last Golden Ticket. Grandad Joe decides he will go with Charlie, to collect his prize, after a miracle rejuvenation.

We realise that Willy Wonka has an alternative motive for the prize, to find a deserving heir for his chocolate factory. He knows that he will have to retire eventually, and he wants to ensure that his successor possesses the right qualities to run his business. As the group meet at the chocolate factory, we realise that Willy Wonka is the Candy shop storekeeper. The group explores the factory, marvelling at chocolate rivers, edible landscapes, nut-sorting squirrels and the Oompa Loompas who sing and dance throughout the factory. Some great quirky choreography and clever effects brought a believable sense of mystery here. As they journey through the factory, the other four children succumb to their bad behaviour and face comical yet cautionary consequences. One by one, each child is expelled from the tour except for Charlie: Augustus is sucked up a pipe after falling into the Chocolate River, Violet chews an experimental gum and swells into a giant human blueberry, Verucca falls down a garbage chute in the Egg Room, and Mike is shrunk to the size of a chocolate bar for his arrogance. However, throughout the tour, Charlie remains kind and humble, demonstrating the positive values that Wonka is looking for. Wonka chooses him to inherit the factory, ushering in a new era of chocolate-making with Charlie at the helm. 

Ellesmere Port Musical Theatre Company love a challenge, Director/Musical Director Liz Legerton, and Choreographer Emma Humphreys are to be congratulated on this not the most straightforward of musicals. The casting was so important especially the main man, I felt Steve was confident and enthusiastic, however I felt he did not have the required experience to tackle such a complex musical score and demanding role. I am sure many more roles are ahead for Steve. The family Bucket stole our hearts good performances here, especially Grandpa Joe his duet ‘Pure Imagination’ with Charlie was exceptional. Mrs Bucket’s ‘If your father was here’ so emotional. I loved the pairing of the parents with the ghastly children, The Gloops were hilarious, as was the Teavee’s, loved Hayley Dale (Mrs Teavee) ‘That Little Man of Mine’. Mr Salt a slave to his spoilt demanding daughter, and Liz Legerton (Mrs Beauregarde) hysterically screaming ‘she’s exploded’ was something special. This production was enhanced by the debut of an exceptionally talented confident young man Dylan Harrison, splendid performance. As we all know a show is not just the principal characters, it’s a full cast, this was a team performance. The Junior Chorus, Flo Rylance, Darcie Byrne, Stella Harris, Alyssa Sprowson, Eliza Holmes & Daisy Drummond. The Senior Chorus Freddie Dale, Aiden King, Charlie Creer, Vicky Earl, Megan Allen, Sarah Aincham, Sue Hickman, Jane Carruthers, Amy Dainty, Meg Pritchard, Gia Bloomfield-Lunt and Lola Harris, you were all stars.

Charlie coming out at the end in an exact replica of Wonka’s costume gained a large cheer from an appreciative audience, young and old enjoying this off the wall musical. The whole musical was fun, a real feel-good evening. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this musical but I definitely enjoyed it, thank you for inviting me it was a blast

Joanne Rymer

NODA

District 4.

 

 

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