‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’ has finally begun it’s first UK Tour bringing audiences a world of pure imagination. Based on the beloved Roald Dahl tale, this contemporary and colourful musical follows young Charlie Bucket, and his Grandpa Joe as they join a small group of contest winners who get to tour the magical and mysterious factory of eccentric candy maker, Willy Wonka. Aided by his robotic Oompa Loompa workers, Wonka has a hidden motivation for the tour, one that he will reveal only after the children in the group show their true colors. This classic tale plays the Edinburgh Playhouse till Saturday 15th April 2023.
Earlier this month our North Scotland Critic, Hannah Cook, covered ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’ kicking off it’s UK Tour in Aberdeen. Hannah went in blind to the musical having never seen a production of the show, or even listened to the Broadway or West End cast recordings of the Roald Dahl stage adaptation. Therefore this review delivers an alternative scope of an audience member who is familiar with the West End production of the show, to see how this new revival fairs to Sam Mendes’ ambitious Theatre Royal run.
Gareth Snook is magical as Willy Wonka. Gareth brings charm, quick wit, confidence and Wonka’s insincerity to life on stage brilliantly. The concept of this version of Wonka removes a lot of his mystery and instead makes him more mad hatteresque, not to say that doesn’t make the character less appealing it just switches up the tempo of this iconic character. What certainly hasn’t changed is the soothing and whimsical vocals Wonka provides, which Gareth nails perfectly, from his introductory number ‘It Must Be Believed To Be Seen’ and then his take on the stunning ‘Pure Imagination’.
Noah Walton’s portrayal of Charlie Bucket is brilliant, for a child actor you would be forgiven for thinking he’s had decades of experience, he was simply born to be on stage. Noah’s depiction of the young boy that has grown-up with nothing but family and the bare necessities, being introduced into a world of chocolate riches is truly a brilliant journey to behold.
Michael D’Cruze is delightful as Grandpa Joe, this fresh take on the partly bedridden 89 year old is simply joyus for audiences. Along with Grandpa Joe, you have the band of Grandparents who also take on other characters within this production. Ewan Gilles covers Grandpa George & Mr Salt (for Christopher Howell). Ewan does a great job and brings these two very different characters to stage brilliantly. Kate Milner-Evans plays Grandma Josephine & Mrs Gloop, she is unrecognizable transforming from Charlie’s grandmother into Augustus’ yodeling mother. Emily Winter plays Grandma Georgina and Mrs Beauregarde, once again two very different characters with Georgina’s sweet kindness being switched out for Beauregarde’s incessant chewing.
Leonie Spilsbury is sensational as Mrs Bucket and Mrs Teavee. Leonie brings British Sign Language to the characterization of Mrs Bucket, which truly brings joy to those members of the audience who have loss of hearing. The warmth in Mrs Bucket is very much present making her so accessible to all of the audience. Even due to Leonie’s portrayal of Mrs Teavee, the audience emphasise with her as the long suffering mother of Mike.
Robin Simões Da Silva gives us a lighter take on Augustus Gloop, taking away the rather nastiness of the character and instead leaning on his obsession with food, which makes the character all the more liked by the audience. That doesn’t mean you feel sorry for his carelessness when he (unsurprisingly) falls into the chocolate river, you still feel he had that coming. Kazmin Borrer wrings every ounce of brattiness she possibly can out of the text and pours it onto stage as the horrid Veruca Salt. Marisha Morgan is determined to chew her way to fame as Violet Beauregarde, bringing rudness and bubbletastic sass, up until the exact moment she becomes a blueberry. Teddy Hinde truly brings an unhinged naughtiness to Mike Teavee, making him more despicable than any other portrayal previously seen.
The ensemble for this production adapt from news reporters and members of the press, to Oompa Loompas and members of the local town surrounding Wonka’s factory, bringing energy and superb vocals to each number. The ensemble for this production are as follows; Victoria Nicol, Ty Reece Stewart, Lucy Hutchison, Patrick King, Emma Robotham-Hunt, Katherine Picar, Jodie Knight, Jonathan MacDonald, Lewis Rae, Lydia Bradd (Dance Captain), Natasha Volley (Swing), Darcie Brown (Swing) and Morgan Scott (Swing).
It is clear that director James Brining has attempted to contemporize and make this musical appropriate for touring, doing this does lose some of the magic that the London production was imfamous for. While Simon Higlett’s Set immerses us in the world of Wonka with Simon Wainwright’s mostly dazzling video designs, there are some scenes which visually make the stage look bare and just don’t wow the audience as they should, lacking energy, as theres nothing on stage for the cast to do except look at the LED screens. Brining could have also staged the musical more simply in Act One, as having the Bucket’s shack move backwards and forwards while introducing new characters, became too repetitive and rather clunky, draining energy and making the scene changes take longer than having a static adaptable set for the full of the first act. Moving onto Simon Higlett’s costume design, it is visually grand however there are a few odd choices such as Wonka’s hat, which removes the suave visual demeanor and also Grandpa Joe’s costume as a bus conductor is an odd choice. With this the Oompa Loompas although are a great concept in terms of a shake up, their design can sometimes seem quite low quality. Tim Mitchell’s lighting design does lift the colour of this musical and help create every setting.
Away from the design of the production, there is also problems with the writing that Brining was working with in terms of the book and score. David Greig’s book for ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’ is true to Roald Dahl’s original tales, yet the characterization isn’t perfect. The characters fail to make an impact in terms of dialogue and character development, meaning the performers need to work harder to truly bring them to life. An example of this is that Wonka is too chatty and wears his heart on his sleeve rather than the sharp, mysterious and mystical figure he is within the books and both films. Also the structure of the story, is rather jarring, it feels like a pitstop tour of each scene rather than a natural transition from scene to scene, failing to let the story breathe. However, that being said, this story is recognizably ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’ with the magic of the story still very much present. With a few tweaks it would be perfect.
The major problem with this musical is that the UK Touring production is using the Broadway score and script, rather than the original West End source material. In the US version Marc Shaiman’s score and Scott Wittman’s lyrics were altered, which ultimately lowered their quality in comparison to the musical numbers which featured in London. As someone whose listened to the Original West End Cast Recording since 2013, you truly notice the lower quality in the score and it’s frustrating. Great numbers such as ‘Double Bubble Dutchess’ and ‘Juicy’ are replaced with lesser numbers, ‘It Must Be Believed To Be Seen’ has been altered in a way where it dampens the climactic end to Act One, and ‘Pure Imagination’ is moved to elsewhere in the musical which doesn’t make the elevator scene as effective. Perhaps if this musical was to tour again they would consider using the original material.
Overall, ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’ delivers some magic this easter mainly due to it’s stellar and diverse cast. Yet some of the creative decisions results in potential treats being not as tasty as they could be. If you’re going in blind to this musical with no prior knowledge to the production’s history then this could still be a sweet trip down memory lane to revisit the infamous Candyman, Willy Wonka.
Get your tickets here: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-the-musical/edinburgh-playhouse/
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