Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Reviews & Upcoming Family Friendly Shows
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Reviews & Family Friendly Spring Shows – Detailed review of the Roald Dahl classic, plus highlights of kids shows coming to the stage this Spring.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical runs opens for its Scottish premiere at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen and runs 15-26 March, so a really good chunk of time. After that, the show moves to the Edinburgh Playhouse from 29 March – 15 April.
Act 1 – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Reviews
Bringing the magic of this children’s classic to life is a challenge, but through a mix of fantastic costumes, clever ambitious sets, visual tricks and illuminations Willy Wonka’s factory is the glorious chocolate churning sweet delight that you’d expect.
The show opens on a scrapyard, where innocent wee Charlie finds unwanted ‘treasure’. This scrap heap magically transforms into a sweet shop, which is moved aside to reveal Charlie’s dilapidated home that’s filled with love, if nothing else. My tiny critics (aged 8 & 9) instantly commented on the sets, how they moved and transformed – ‘Wow, mummy’.
Very swiftly the golden ticket winners are announced, adding colour to Charlie’s drab world. The cliched newsreader and ‘reporter in the field’ bring humour as they introduce each horrendous little child. Augustus Gloop is suitably revolting – eating endless sausages and delivering raucous burps. He was my favourite disgusting little child, and the kids loved him too – BURP!
Act 2 – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Reviews
Act 2 is when the real magic happens. The stars of this act are undeniably the factory and Willy Wonka himself. The lights, the illuminations, the magic of a world of sweets feels real. A psychedelic boat ride (see pic above) through a whirl of candy seems delicious yet potentially dangerous, and this is partly thanks to Willy Wonka’s character. In this stage show Wonka has edge! He’s like a cross between a mischievous Jim Carrey and the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. (I’m not sure if that’s the vibe actor Gareth Snook was going for, but he was very good). Are the kids having the time of their life, or risking their lives? My children weren’t entirely sure, so the sense of adventure felt more real.
The factory is of course home to the Oompa Loompas, who delighted my children. All credit to the costume department for these robotic expressionless creatures who did Wonka’s bidding. These creatures had roughly six costume changes each as their silver outfits were adapted for each disgusting child and situation – because one amazing costume isn’t enough! And if you’re wondering how Violet turned into a blueberry, well, her costume transformed on stage right in front of your eyes. What a fab costume team right there!
My children’s favourite scene in the entire show was Veruca Salt meeting her nutty demise at the hands of the squirrels – BAD NUT! BAD NUT! The dancing, the Oompa Loompas, the squirrels, the slide, the rubbish, the snobby snotty dad kicking his legs in the air led to shouts of ‘Brilliant, just brilliant’ from my 8 year old as Veruca was wheeled away in a wheelie bin.
Production Values – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Reviews
Ultimately this is a lavish production. A large cast, featuring very talented child actors. We got the lovely Isaac Sugden as our little Charlie who led us through the whole adventure. It took well thought out and devised production to bring together sets, lighting and projections to make magical concepts feel real, from the magic elevator pictured above to Augustus Gloop being sucked up a pipe!
The only criticisms I got from my tiny tots was they felt there was too much time spent in Charlie’s house in Act 1 (once they’d seen it a couple of times they’d seen enough – tough crowd!) but that was it. They were raving about the show, especially the Oompa Loompas and the ‘BAD NUTS!’ so if you can make it along to HMT, Edinburgh or any of the English dates, get your tickets now.
Tickets & Performances
As I mentioned above, this is a lavish show with high production values. The cheapest tickets I could see cost £12.50. Evening shows are at 7.00pm, with 2.00pm matinees, and one 11am performance on 19 March.
Spring/Summer 2023
Remember, Charlie isn’t the only talent (or the only Roald Dahl show) coming to town. Take a look at these other treats for your little ones.
Roald Dahl’s The Three Little Pigs with Children’s Classic Concerts
19 March, 1500 – The Music Hall welcomes a 20-piece orchestra for a phizz-whizzing concert of Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes poem The Three Little Pigs. Whoops-whiffling characters come to life with lots of opportunities to join in, guaranteed to entertain even the most biffsquiggled Snozzwanger. Get set for a swashboggling concert for all the family. Age 4-12.
Sing Along Encanto
12 April, 1300 or 1630 – His Majesty’s Theatre – Ready for a family sing-along to the movie Encanto? From the producers of Sing-a-Long-a Sound of Music and Sing-a-Long-a Frozen, cheer on Mirabel as she tries to save the magic surrounding the Encanto. The show’s live host encourages everyone to sing, will teach you all some dance moves, help you create ‘magic’ and show you how to use your free props bag. P.S. Fancy dress is strongly encouraged.
Annie
23-27 May, His Majesty’s Theatre – Annie, a fantastic one week run, direct from the West End, starring Elaine C Smith as the tyrannical Miss Hannigan! A rags to riches tale of orphan Annie, set in 1930s New York. Listen out for classics from its award-winning score, such as It’s The Hard-Knock Life and Tomorrow.
Winnie the Pooh
14-16 July – His Majesty’s Theatre – If you want to plan ahead to the summer holidays, don’t forget the timeless Winnie the Pooh. Venture into Hundred Acre Wood to spend quality time with Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Owl and Tigger. The characters are brought to life through impressive life-size puppetry. Listen out for much loved songs such as The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers.
Other highlights include Milkshake Live on 4 April, David Walliams Demon Dentist running 22-24 June, and Hey Duggee the Live Theatre Show 5-6 July 2023.
Practicalities for His Majesty’s Theatre
The theatre is at Rosemount Viaduct, Aberdeen, AB25 1GL. Parking is relatively straightforward at the Denburn car park. Any queues to depart dissipate in a few minutes. Sweets, ice cream and drinks (soft and alcoholic) can be bought at various stands in the theatre and there are two bars. You can preorder drinks for the interval when you arrive. During the interval a bell will sound, summoning you back to your seat, so you don’t need to clock watch.
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You can book pre-theatre meals at the new Terrace Restaurant at HMT, pre-booking definitely advised.
Other posts that might interest you include:-
Top Things to do in Aberdeen with Kids
Family Walks in Aberdeen and Shire
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