Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory returns to London with Wimbledon run

Back in 2015, I remember writing about being excited about a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory event on West End, and for years now, we’ve been hoping to see this classic Roald Dahl story back on stage.

And this is the week that has become a reality.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical, currently on tour in the UK and Ireland, is playing at New Wimbledon Theatre until Saturday 1 July, and the show, featuring music by Marc Shaiman and directed by James Brining, is a based on the novel by Roald Dahl and the Warner Bros film.

When reviewing the show on Thursday, I felt myself lean back in the seat, ready to be transported to the wonderfully creative world of Roald Dahl, following the story of Charlie Bucket (played by Amelia Minto on Thursday) finding a golden ticket to visit the mysterious Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory with four other lucky ticket-holders.

In the first act, audiences were introduced to Charlie’s struggling family and the other children discovering the golden tickets in chocolate bars. The act finished with a first encounter with Willy Wonka (Gareth Snook), who appeared almost magical with his stick lighting up before the man himself became visible at the centre of the stage.

After the interval, the show continued with the wonderfully different children going on a group guided tour around the factory, regularly failing to follow instructions and facing serious consequences from poor decision-making. The use of projections created colourful backdrops to the various sections of the factory, and in one room a giant suction-pipe was lowered, sweeping up Augustus Gloop (Robin Simões Da Silva) in one of the show’s most surprising and memorable moments.

For me, some of the other highlights included Violet Beauregarde (Marisha Morgan) turning into a blueberry–a comical costume look; and the squirrel sorting nuts in the nut room–a larger-than-life, cute, cuddly squirrel, which made the nut structure a particularly impressive part of the set.

The role of Charlie is played by both boys and girls, and the creative production left us thinking Roald Dahl’s determined and caring main character could equally have been a girl.

For families in South West London, I think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical offers a golden opportunity to catch an applaudable adaptation of an iconic Roald Dahl story that will be familiar to many younger theatre-goers as well as their grown-ups.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical is playing at New Wimbledon Theatre until 1 July. Running time is 2 hours and 30 minutes, including interval.

Photo by Johan Persson

Tags: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Musical, Musicals, New Wimbledon Theatre, Roald Dahl, What's on stage