The Charlie and the chocolate factory musical is based on Roald Dahl’s incredible book of the same name and follows the enchanting story of Charlie Bucket and Grandpa Joe’s visit to the weird and wonderful chocolate factory where they meet the enigmatic Willy Wonka and discover that things aren’t always as sweet as they seem.

Charlie’s journey begins with a golden ticket, one of five special invites to the factory hidden in special chocolate bars by Willy Wonka. Against all the odds, Charlie finds one of these tickets prompting Grandpa Joe to get out of bed for the first time in 40 years!

Inside the factory on the special day Charlie meets the other lucky winners as Willie Wonka explains the rules to the guests. Willy Wonka makes them all sign contracts then reveals an incredible garden of candy delights. The children explore this amazing world until disaster strikes and the Austrian boy Augustus Gloop falls into a chocolate river and is sucked up the chocolate extraction pipe.

This is where we meet the Oompa Loompa’s for the first time, Wonka’s tiny workforce who make no effort to help the boy in the extraction pipe, instead singing their ominous song: Auf Wiedersehen Augustus Gloop.

Even if you’ve never read the book or seen the film you’ll not want to miss the musical, Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes with music by Marc Shaiman, and lyrics by Scott Wittman, Charlie and the chocolate factory is a cautionary tale that the whole family will enjoy.