It has been a little while since I last saw an inhouse production at Altrincham's Garrick Theatre. (the last one I should have seen and was truly annoyed for having missed it due to illness was A Chorus Line!) I've said it before and I'll iterate it here, this company produce some of the finest amateur theatre for miles in all directions. Roald Dahl's 'Charlie And The Chocolate Factory' has been made into a new musical - no, not the wonderful 1971 film version staring Gene Wilder sadly, but this new version does use at least two of the more familiar songs from it. And the Garrick's production is just flawless and superb.
A superb cast has been chosen, who all work excellently with each other, allowing the more obvious comedy moments to speak for themselves, whilst adding a few smaller more nuanced comedic moments too which, thanks to Joseph Meighan's intelligent directing, allows each character to shine in their own right as well as making a beautifully orchestrated ensemble piece of theatre. The young boy who had the onerous task of performing the role of Charlie Bucket, namely Rui Yang Lau, deserves a special mention of course. His grasp of the character and his performance were way beyond his years. I also truly enjoyed the wonderful interpretation of Conor Collins's Willy Wonka, truly making this part his own he had a wonderful stage presence, a lovely gift for comedy timing, and a rich and sonorous singing voice to boot.
The live band sounded wonderful and note perfect throughout under the direction of Andrew Saunders. the set was a pure delight, with stunning costumes and great choreography (Emma Kay), and the sound and LX were on point all evening.
The FOH staff were even dressed as Oompa-Loompas and the kiosk was selling Wonka Chocolate bars - genius!
This is a very short review I understand that, but seriously, when everything was just so utterly brilliant from start to finish, there's nothing more to say! One of the best, and most professional amateur theatre shows I have seen in a VERY long time. Thank you everyone involved for making it so!
Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu
On - 25.10.25
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