Behind the scenes with Charlie and the Chocolate factory and why the story is so relevant with the cost of living crisis

For Brining it has been a nostalgic experience too. “It is quite meaningful for me personally – I remember reading all the Roald Dahl stories as a kid and the one I knew best and read most often was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” he says. “When I was growing up, I saw the 1971 film with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka but until I started working on this production, I hadn’t really studied the story in depth. And to have had the opportunity to do that has been amazing.”

It has been a while in the planning. This particular stage adaptation of the novel, with book by David Greig and music by Marc Shaiman, was first staged in 2013 at the Drury Lane Theatre in London, directed by Sam Mendes. It was an enormous hit and went on to enjoy similar success on Broadway.

“There was such a buzzy feeling around it and as a title, it was always something I was interested in doing, but it is quite difficult to get the rights to perform it,” says Brining.

“Three years ago, when I was directing The Wizard of Oz, I enquired whether the rights were available. There was a lot of negotiating to do with Warner Brothers, the Roald Dahl foundation and the original producers, so it’s been a long process.”

Dahl was apparently inspired to write Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by his experiences at boarding school when a local chocolate factory invited pupils to trial new chocolate bars – as a child he aspired to inventing a chocolate bar himself – more than 30 years later, in 1964, the book was published. It is essentially a morality tale – with humility and goodness winning out over selfishness and greed.

And that’s probably exactly the kind of story we all need to hear at the moment. In fact, most of Dahl’s stories are about the potential of young people and the power of kindness.

Young Charlie Bucket lives with his hard-working mother and aging grandparents in a modest home. They struggle to make ends meet, don’t enjoy much material wealth, but they are rich in other ways – not least in their love, affection and consideration for each other and their ability to make the best of their difficult circumstances.

The possibility of change for the better comes when it is announced that eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka is releasing a handful of golden tickets hidden in his chocolate bars and the five children who find them will be granted a tour of his chocolate factory. One of the lucky winners will also receive a special grand prize at the end of the tour.

The four other children are spoilt, selfish rich kids and ultimately their bad behaviour is not rewarded, while Charlie’s gentle nature and generosity is.

“What I wanted to do with our show was not to create a replica of the original production,” says Brining.

“We looked at both the West End and the Broadway versions, drawing the best elements of both and then making it a bit more contemporary and in line with our resources. It will be going out on tour after the run in Leeds around the UK, so it is a really big project for us. It is a heartfelt, intimate story but visually and musically it is spectacular. We like a challenge and I hope it will deliver a very special experience for our audiences.”

Having seen the production, I can confirm that Brining, his cast and creative team have done an absolutely first-rate job on that front – they have brought together an exceptional group of actors, headed by Gareth Snook as Willy Wonka, with fine ensemble playing from the talented cast who bring each character vividly to life. It has eye-catching set and costume design plus some impressive video and lighting effects. It takes the audience on a magical, uplifting journey.

In a way it is a timeless story – about family, love, hope, imagination, but it does seem particularly timely at the moment.

This is a story about a family living in poverty where the grandparents spend most of their time in bed in order to keep warm. This winter, in particular, that has very strong resonances.

“It does speak to us today,” says Brining. “I never saw the London or New York production. We have set it loosely in the present but not specifically today. A family living in difficult circumstances and making the best of what they have is incredibly relevant to what is happening now. I don’t want to make it in any way overtly political, that would be hypocritical to do that, but the story is really about injustice. The wonderful thing about it is that it also celebrates the power of the imagination to transform lives, individually and collectively. And how society as a whole can be affected positively.”

Brining is full of praise for the four youngsters – two girls and two boys, Amelia Minto, Isaac Sugden, Kayleen Nguema and Noah Walton – who are taking on the title role in the show and play Charlie in rotation.

“They are all fantastic – different from each other but equally brilliant in the part,” he says. “Working with them has just been so joyous. We have been rehearsing with them since the first week of August, before bringing in the rest of the cast. Everyone in the cast is excellent – they are such a flexible and versatile group of performers.”

After a tough couple of years due to the Covid pandemic and its aftermath, theatres seem to be slowly recovering in terms of audience figures – and Brining is cautiously optimistic.

“Ticket sales for Charlie and also for our other Christmas production, Stick Man, have been incredibly good,” he says.

“It shows that there is an appetite for live performance, particularly for things that are celebratory and suitable for the whole family. In fact, across the autumn season as a whole we have done generally ok.

!So, I am feeling pretty positive, although we are of course aware of the cost-of-living crisis and all the other pressures people are under… but people need a break and to enjoy some entertainment – we are very happy to provide that.”

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – the Musical is at Leeds Playhouse until January 28 and then tours to venues around the UK. To book tickets call the box office on 0113 2137700 or visit leedsplayhouse.org.uk