Theatre Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory @ The Regent Theatre

Review by Ian Kendrick:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is running from 23rd June to the 27th June 2026, at the Regent theatre, Stoke on Trent.

The story originated from a children’s novel written by Roald Dahl in 1964 and is a story of poverty, hope, love and adventure from the eyes and mind of one Charlie Bucket.

The cast showed great talent from Willy Wonka himself ( Sean Clark-Wilkinson) to Charlie Bucket (Shay Wright) Mrs Bucket (Phoebe Cooke)

Grandpa Joe (Frank McGregor) Veruca Salt (Libby Robinson) Mr Salt (Chris Ridge) Mike Teavee (Elliott Durham) Mrs Teavee (Hannah Baddeley) Augustus Gloop (George Broad) Mrs Gloop (Natalie Kent) Violet Beauregard (Harriet Mabe) Mr Beauregard (Daniel Jones): all giving performances worthy of the West End.

The show starts with Grandpa Joe, along with Grandpa George, Grandma Josephine, and Grandma Georgina all giving performances as big as the bed they all appeared in throughout the show. Charlie enters and wants to play at being Willy Wonka with Grandpa Joe instead of doing his home work.

As the show unfolds it sees Charlie win one of five golden tickets, to go on a tour of the Wonka Chocolate factory, along with Veruca, Mike, Augustus, and Violet. The naughty spoilt children, with the exception of Charlie, all meet with sweet sticky demises, leaving Charlie to win the ultimate prize.

Alas no spoilers here.

Willy Wonka does have you believing that he is quite bonkers at times, but all the while delivering his sometimes tongue twisting lines to comedy timing perfection. (Hats off to the larger then life Oompa Loompas who lit up the stage every time they appeared to carry out Wonka’s biddings!)

The stage set began with the huge gates emblazoned with WW and the colourful factory in the background. Various props and set pieces were used throughout with great effect, however the pièce de résistance would have to be the full back stage screen that bought the inside of the factory to life.

The whole evening took me back to my own childhood. I was delighted to hear some classics like The Candy Man, Pure Imagination and I’ve got a Golden Ticket, alongside some great new numbers.

Looking around the audience it was plain to see that not only the younger element were enjoying the show. The standing ovation at the end showed this, and very well deserved it was.

The choreography by Joel Montague (who was also director), along with Associate Choreographer Grace Forrester and Associate Director Luke Dipple, was very slick. I must mention also Jonathan Cliffe the musical director, Kate Shield lighting designer, and Tom Maurice sound engineer, who all helped make this show unforgettable.

To summarise, a brilliant night’s entertainment that brought memories flooding back. A truly magical night with a fantastic finale. Again no spoiler.