Review: Bury St Edmunds Operatic and Dramatic Society’s production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Theatre Royal

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bury St Edmunds Operatic and Dramatic Society, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, Thursday.

A world of pure imagination is being brought to vivid life this week, as Bury St Edmunds Operatic and Dramatic Society stages its latest production, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Based on Roald Dahl’s classic novel and the 1971 film, this retelling of Charlie Bucket’s encounter with Willy Wonka (with a few surprises and deviations from the familiar plot along the way) includes all the ingredients of a smash hit musical: A quirky score – including songs new to this musical as well as references to the 1971 film – stunning vocals, fantastic comedy and whimsical performances from the leads.

Last night’s performance featured the ‘Team Oompa’ of young golden ticket winners (with ‘Team Loompa’ performing on alternate nights).

Austin Rolt was our Charlie Bucket, perfectly capturing the character’s dreamlike qualities and the hearts of the audience as he performed with a confidence well beyond his years, not putting a foot wrong with his (many) lines or song and dance numbers.

Henry Nichol was suitably composed as meat-loving Augustus Gloop, Jasmine Briggs was a shrill, petulant and light-footed Veruca Salt (eventually torn to pieces by squirrels), Seth Jackson was brash as the beastly Mike Teavee and Imogen Rowland was a bold (but unfortunate) Violet Beauregarde, who met her blueberry-hued end.

Talented Steve Murray was charismatic as Willy Wonka, while Kat Metcalfe’s stunning vocals as Mrs Bucket deserve a mention – as does Nigel Witney’s spot-on characterisation of Granpdpa Joe.

I enjoyed the stories and songs of the Golden Ticket winners (particularly Mrs Gloop and Augustus), however I felt they slowed the pace of act one. After all, what everyone wants is to get inside that factory – right? But memorable cameos came from Sarah Brodie as Cherry Sundae and Izzie Blair as Jerri Jubilee added a welcome extra spark to proceedings.

The costumes were fabulous. I particularly loved the variety of wigs sported by the Oompa-Loompas (whose appearance in act two really elevated the production) while Willy Wonka and Charlie could not have looked more the part.

Meanwhile, clever use of projected scenes helped to portray the various locations throughout the musical. I enjoyed being transported into Willy’s world of pure imagination through the use of those projections alongside clever set and props.

Act two really picked up the pace, with high points including every scene with those Oompa-Loompas, while I enjoyed Veruca’s Nutcracker ‘Sweet’ with the slightly sinister squirrels.

While I wasn’t a fan of the choreography it was performed with confidence. However, I was a fan of the show’s tender moments, with the View from Here as the story reached its conclusion being one such highlight.

As Charlie and Willy Wonka ascended in the magical glass elevator, even my cold heart was moved.

Well deserved cheers greeted the performers as they returned for their bows.

The show runs until tomorrow, with performances tonight and tomorrow at 7.30pm and a Saturday matinée at 2pm. Very limited tickets available at www.theatreroyal.org