Ryan Yeates as Charlie and Paul Slade Smith as Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Photo by Jeff Busby.
‘Delumptious’, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is fantasmical, and exactly what one wants in a big musical. Wonderful acting, inspired choreography, special effects galore, and enough energy to leave you on a sugar high.
Willy Wonka needs to retire from chocolate making and hand over his factory to someone younger. Five children will find a golden ticket inside a Wonka Bar and win a sneaky audition. Along with their parents, four of the five children are rude and obnoxious. We have a marcasite oligarch and his spoiled daughter, a kid who should be choosing sauerkraut over fatty manufactured meats, a queen of bubble gum pop decked in velour and a self-absorbed screen gamer with a self-medicating mother. And Charlie. Sweet, loving and sweet-loving this kid was born to be a chocolatier, has collected recipes all his life and believes in the power of the positive.
Ryan Yeates as Charlie brings us a hero to root for. Yeates has created a very enjoyable character, sympathetic and kind and thoughtful, and his genuine expression of emotions is at the heart of the success of this show. He also has an ease of delivery for the exposition elements, especially in the first Candy Store scene. Yeates brings out all the emotions and joy and he has a well ranged voice, clear diction and top notes of beautiful carry. It’s a truly impressive performance in this central role.
The other role requiring finesse and excitable audience engagement is Willy Wonka. Paul Slade Smith gives us an affable, absent minded Willy and his charisma in the role is extraordinary. Smith’s eschewing of syrup is comically enticing. It’s a commanding performance which brings out the more empathetic Wonka despite some of his bizarre behaviours. The way he expresses an absolute disregard for child safety is very funny, as it his penchant for flinging stuff off into the wings. His choreo is designed and delivered with a delicacy and light footed lankiness that is simply winning.
The Bucket Family in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Photo by Jeff Busby.
Also incredibly charming and having waay too much fun is Tony Sheldon as Grandpa Joe. He is hilarious and the director has obviously just let him loose. There are huge chunks of pause when the audience can just take in the delight that he hurls across the footlights. Lacy Maunder also has a fulsome character as Charlie’s mother, with such warmth and complexity in her interactions with other characters, especially Charlie of course. In one scene she squeezes his shoulder and with a simple sideways head tilt which melted every mother’s heart. And the voice… ‘If Your Father Were Here’ is breathtakingly good as she blends pragmatism with the yearning that is so very touching.
The ensemble dancing in this show is second to none. The precision is exceptional especially in the very challenging choreography of the German scene where any joint out of place would mar the look of the whole. And they did it with sausages! And with cameras in the pinpoint reporter scene. Plus their Machiavellian acting work as Oompa Loompas is a notch above perfection. No wonder the audience simply cheered all the way through their first song with the roar beginning from the first little entrance.
Paul Slade Smith as Willy Wonka with the cast of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Photo by Jeff Busby.
Director Jack O’Brien has created a very detailed production which subtly emphasises the storytelling in Act One to put the audience in a receptive space for the more visually spectacular second act. The song which closes the show is a duet which is soft and mellow and quietly profound and the audience was there with them all the way. It’s a big investment in narrative and character and the applause and standing ovation after was such fun to be part of. Huge applause in odd places also served to exemplify how well conceptualised the show is. It’s not just the very clever and varied video graphic creations or unobtrusive lighting with terrific followspot operation nor set pieces that keep on coming. It’s the world of imagination shared.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is one of those special nights, a save up and make sure you go night, when laughter and love abound and the world is put to rights.
Rating: 5 stars ★★★★★
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Presented by John Frost, Craig Donnell, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Langley Park Productions and Neal Street Productions
Director: Jack O’Brien
Choreography: Joshua Bergasse
Lighting Design: Japhy Weideman
Sound Design: Andrew Keister
Production Design: Jeff Sugg
Scenic and Costume Design: Mark Thompson
Australian Music Direction: Kellie Dickerson
Cast:
Willy Wonka: Paul Slade Smith
Grandpa Joe:Tony Sheldon
Mrs Bucket: Lucy Maunder
Charlie: Ryan Yeates, Xion Jarvis, Tommy Blair, Oliver Alkhair
11 January – 19 May 2019
Capitol Theatre, Sydney
