The challenge:
To reimagine this incredibly famous story putting the heart of Charlie’s story at its centre and clearly defining who Wonka is: recluse or puppet master. The production needed to be deliver on a massively ambitious promise, both technically and visually, whilst being light enough on its feet to tour the UK & Ireland and sound amazing.
The response:
We were given free reign by the writers to restructure and use material from all previous versions of the show (including songs from a trunk of previously unheard material). We chose to make Wonka a recluse and so pretty much removed him from act one so that we could centre our attention on the audience falling in love with Charlie. To deliver the heart of the show the live orchestra was designed to sound rich and romantic with plenty of woodwinds, French horns and harp. With the help of the amazing Jon Gingell, we spent over 12 months developing the technology for the show so that it could have a truly epic sweep, rock out when it needed to and deliver the full on dance floor vibes of the TV room. Audiences seem to be loving it!!!