Charlie Bucket Troy Tipple and Willy Wonka Ross Dawes outside Waterstones Piccadilly Photo credit David Jensen
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the hit West End musical and Biscuiteers, supported by Tate & Lyle, have recreated the chocolate factory in biscuit form in the main window of Waterstones flagship shop in Piccadilly.
Images downloadable from link below.
The 6m x 1.7m edible chocolate biscuit installation, based on the Olivier-nominated Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical stage set, was designed and created by Biscuiteers and unveiled by Willy Wonka and Charlie on 8th April.
The entire chocolate factory has been lovingly recreated so that passers-by can look through this extraordinary 3D structure into each room and see Augustus Gloop being sucked in to the chocolate river in the chocolate room, Violet Beauregarde blowing up into a blueberry in the inventing room, Veruca Salt being thrown down the rubbish chute in the nut room and Mike Teavee being shrunk in the television room.
It took Biscuiteers 300 hours to design, bake, build and decorate this edible Chocolate Factory made using over 100kg of biscuit dough and 200kg Tate & Lyle sugar. The display will remain in the branch for four weeks.
Cast members, Charlie and Willy Wonka, unveiled the window display on 8th April and members of the hit show’s cast will read extracts from Dahl’s original story in the Piccadilly branch later in the month.
60 x 60cm versions of the edible chocolate factory will be on display in Waterstones shops in Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, Greenwich, Chiswick, King’s Road, Richmond, Hampstead and Kensington.
Other elements of the partnership will involve the installation of a pair of Wonka factory gates into the children’s section of Waterstones Piccadilly, as well as a series of fun Charlie and the Chocolate Factory themed family events.
The book
2014 marks a phenomenal fifty years since Roald Dahl’s best-loved tale Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was first published. The story of Charlie Bucket, the five Golden Tickets, the devilish Oompa-Loompas and the amazing Mr Willy Wonka has become firmly embedded in our culture, having (twice) been reimagined for the cinema, as an opera and, in 2013, as a hit West End musical. Conservative estimates suggest the original book has sold over 20 million copies worldwide; it is currently available in 55 languages.
The musical
Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has quickly become one of the West End’s most popular and successful stage musicals. It has broken West End box office records at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, where it has been seen by over half a million people since it opened in June 2013. It is currently taking bookings until 30 May 2015.
The production has been nominated for seven Olivier Awards. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Royal Opera House on 13 April.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is directed by Sam Mendes. Featuring ingenious stagecraft, the wonder of the original story that has captivated the world for almost 50 years is brought to life with music by Marc Shaiman, and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, a book by award-winning playwright and adaptor David Greig, set and costume designs by Mark Thompson and choreography by Peter Darling.
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Running Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Age Restrictions: Recommended for ages 7+ (Under 5′s will not be admitted)
Show Opened: 22nd May 2013
Evenings: Monday to Saturday 7.30pm
Matinee: Wednesday and Saturday 2.30pm