Charlie And the Chocolate Factory Musical At The Mayflower, Southampton Review
DISCLOSURE - TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW.
Reviewed by Anita Connor
We went to see the performance on Thursday 17th August.
Car parking is available at 2 large multi-storey car parks within a 5-minute walk from the theatre. MSSCP car park in West Park Rod, SO15 1FZ and Grosvenor Square car park, SO15 2BE. There are over 500 spaces in each car park. During the daytime Monday to Friday, the charges are £4.50 for 4 hours and on Saturdays it is £4. However, for evening performances, the charge from 18.00 to midnight is a fixed £2. The theatre is also close to the railway station and to many bus routes.
There is street level access to the Mayflower auditorium through the accessible entrance to the right-hand side of the theatre. The Mayflower is a cashless venue. We sat in the dress circle and the seats were well tiered, giving an excellent view with plenty of leg space.
Performances of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical are at 7.00 in the evening and there are matinees at 2.00 on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. There are the following accessible performances: audio described on Tuesday 29th August, a captioned performance on Wednesday 30th August, and a signed performance on Friday 1st September, all at 7.00.
The running time of the show is approximately 2hours 35 minutes including a 20-minute interval. It is recommended for children over the age of 7 years, and under 2-year-olds are not admitted to the theatre. The performance contains smoke and haze effects, flashing images and flashing lights including strobe effects.
Based on the iconic story by Roald Dahl, this spectacular stage show follows the West End and Broadway productions with its first ever UK tour. When Charlie Bucket finds 1 of 5 golden tickets to the Wonka Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the other winners are excited to be able to feast on their favourite sweets. However, it is a story where kindness and hope win over privilege and it was fun to see the spoiled children and their parents get their comeuppance.
I thought that the first half of the show was rather slow as the children with the winning tickets didn’t reach the Chocolate Factory until the interval. This did, however, give us a good chance to meet all the children and learn a little about their privileged lives in contrast to that of Charlie. It also made sense with the staging and scenery so it was understandable.
The second half, however, was much better with some excellent special effects – I won’t describe these in detail as it will spoil the surprise but there was spectacular use of video and illusions, and it was great to see the inclusion of the glass elevator. This production includes some songs from the 1970’s film – The Candy Man, Pure Imagination and the Oompah-Loompa song. I personally enjoyed the original songs much more than the new additions and it was the original songs that I heard people singing as they left the theatre at the end of the show.
The lead role of Willy Wonka is played by Gareth Snook who has previously sung in a long list of shows including Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. He gave a brilliant performance, and the show really came to life once he was on stage. There are 4 young people playing Charlie Bucket and we saw Harmony Raine-Riley – she was a joy to watch and should have a promising career ahead of her. She was supported by Grandpa George, played by Christopher Howell who had a beautiful voice. Emma Robotham-Hunt is also worth a mention as she really brought out the spoiled nature of Veruca Salt and the entire audience seemed pleased when she succumbed to her fate! Although this was not a signed performance, there was some signing in the show.
Mayflower Theatre, 22-26 Commercial Road, Southampton, SO15 1GE.
This production runs from the 16th August to the 3rd September.
Tickets range from £20 – £75, with a £6 reduction for under 18’s on Tuesday and Wednesday only, excluding the cheapest seats.
Rating: 4/5
For more information or to book tickets please visit https://www.mayflower.org.uk/whats-on/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-2023