Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Tonight was the second time I have had the pleasure of seeing this show complete with its impressive set, key props and massive LED projections, the first being at the Nottingham Theatre Royal.  However although many staging elements were the same, I was delighted to see how different an interpretation the Mansfield team brough to the stage.

Prior to the show I was met by the Director and one of the principal actors who very graciously gave of their time before curtain to talk me through their rehearsal journey and production choices.  The most interesting of these was  the decision not to cast any children in the performance with the exception of the role of Charlie himself. At the end of the production I reflected to myself that this decision was transparent to the audience as all the “child” principals had channelled their inner spoilt brat to great effect resulting in the show being a great success with a unique twist for those who have seen the show elsewhere.

Most people will be familiar with the plot of this classic novel by Roald Dahl for either the book or the two movies that have been produced with Gene Wilder and Johhny Depp in the lead role of Willy Wonka.  Tonight JJ McCormack delivered his own take on the excentric chocolate maker to great effect.  He filled the character with just the right combination of energy, sarcasm and passion.  JJ also stayed just the right side of “sociopath” in his rapid mood swings so he always seemed “on the edge” without becoming a cliché, which clearly unnerved the younger members of the audience making the scenes towards the end of the show all the more rewarding for them.

The other key character in the show is Charlie who, like Wonka, appears in nearly every scene as he embarks on his fantastic adventure from a life of poverty in a multi-generational one parent family, getting joy from the most meagre of annual chocolate treats, to becoming owner and chief designer of the biggest candy empire on the planet.   Having conferred with one of my friends who also saw the show I can confirm that both Harry Bramall and Oscar Wilkins shone in this role.  Each bringing out the vulnerability, optimism and joy of Charlie.  They really understood Charlie’s character and helped the younger members of the audience experience the magic of the factory through his innocent, wide eyed amazement.  To make Charlie’s journey have it’s full impact you also need a strong cast playing both his family and the obnoxious families of the other Golden Ticket winners and here the cast of principals were all spot-on.   

Turning first to Charlie’s family Sean Curtis pitched his Grandpa Joe at exactly the right level.  He was a great support for Charlie throughout the show, from the early scenes in the “grandparents bed” to the journey through the various rooms of the factory. Always there to support and defend his grandson from any peril or disappointment that came along the way Sean was at all time authentic and sympathetic in his delivery.  Amy Shaw has the hard task of making Mrs Bucket a strong emotional anchor for Charlie in only a few scenes and Amy did this to great effect.  She was ably supported by Elizabeth Sissons, Kay Thomason-Vardy, and Clare Harris as Grandma Josephine, Grandpa George and Grandma Georgina who collectively had a great ensemble chemistry in their apparent dottiness and idiosyncrasies.  Jan Hogetts cameo appearances as Mrs Green the rotten vegetable/Wonka bar seller had me laughing out loud!

It can be a challenge to make each of the Ticket winning families distinct from each other but the Mansfield production didn’t in any way fall into this trap with the Gloop’s, Salt’s, Beauregard’s and Teevee’s all having their own distinct identities and annoying characteristics.  

Lauren Taylor brought out the obsessive mother love of her gluttonous son Augustus with no demand for food ever being refused while Oliver Ward revelled in his role of Augustus, always looking for the next food related treat until his  unfortunate but predictable demise in the chocolate fountain.  Verity Lee-Varley had a ball playing Veruca Salt with the Eastern European characterisation coming to the fore in both her and Matthew Bird’s perfect performance as Mr Salt.  Veruca’s greed came to a particularly enjoyable end at the hands of some very entertaining giant squirrel’s, a bad nut indeed.

I particularly enjoyed the portrayal by Rebecca Wigman and Helen Savage of Violet and Mrs Beauregard as the social media influencer and her pushy mother/manager.  Having worked in social media in the early days (2000’s), I have met a number of influencers and Rebecca and Helen got their characterisations spot on.  The bubble gum demise set piece was also one or my highlights of the night.  Finally Jamie Savage and Carolyn Frith were absolutely hysterically funny in their mother and son double act throughout the production.  Jamie’s portrayal of Mike managed to avoid being an American version of Kevin and Perry and Carolyn brought out the inner depression of the mildly alcoholic middle aged mother, while still being genuinely supportive and shocked by her son really being “in” TV..

The action across the production was always kept at a high pace so that there was never a dull moment.  In addition to the great directing, choreography and stage management on display this was also very much a credit to the performances of Chloe Thistlethwaite and Garry Richardson as Cherry Sundae and Jerry Jubilee during the ticket winning montage sequences in the first Act.  The ever more transparent desire that Cherry had for Garry and his increasing embarrassment were great to watch..

So, as you can tell I had a great evening watching this production.  In additional to all the principal performances I have discussed above, the overall success of the show was very much down to the set piece ensemble numbers, be that the social media themed pop numbers in Act 1 or the Squirrel and various Oompa Loompa scene choreography in Act 2, so congratulations go to all the dance teams and vocalists led by Roger, Cassey and Ann Colgan, Grace Bowskill and Bex Haddow the dance captains.

With the use of so many impressive sets and effects it’s key that the many and varied costumes for the whole cast are equally strong so that they compliment the overall vision.  Here the Mansfield Wardrobe team really pulled out all of the stops making every character unique and accentuating their characters.  Speaking from experience, when you have costume you believe in as a performer, it makes all the difference to your confidence and helps you inhabit your character improving your performance no end.

Sound balance and lighting were all on-point throughout the evening and all the technical elements including the green screen visual effects and final physical elevator scene combined to give the audience a night to remember long after the curtain fell.  Great movement, vocal performances and acting from all resulted in one very happy reviewer alongside a very appreciative audience…  Congratulations all and see you again soon..

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