Gareth Snook has done more than 240 performances so far, but he admits he will never get to the end of the fabulously fascinating character of Willy Wonka.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Musical comes to Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre from August 16-September 3, and every night of the run, as Gareth says, he will be discovering more and more about Roald Dahl’s fabulous creation.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Musical comes to Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre from August 16-September 3, and every night of the run, as Gareth says, he will be discovering more and more about Roald Dahl’s fabulous creation.
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00:00 Good morning, my name is Phil here at Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. What an
00:06 incredible pleasure to be speaking to Willy Wonka, no less. Now Gareth, you are playing
00:11 the man when Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the musical comes to Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
00:16 from August 16th to September 3rd. You must be having an absolute blast in this role.
00:22 I mean, you look wonderfully the part for a start.
00:25 Well, it's better to grow it than stick it on every night.
00:30 I'm sure it says that.
00:33 Yeah, but precisely, it can get quite toasty on stage in that costume. Yeah. No, what a
00:38 part to make. I mean, it's a dream. You know, it didn't take me long to accept the job,
00:45 I can assure you that.
00:46 Do you approach something like that? Do you just rejoice in the fact that you can't sum
00:51 him up, you can't explain him, he's so many things?
00:54 I mean, he's everything to everybody. It's interesting, you know, because I mean, he's
00:58 unpredictable. He's got a wicked sense of humor. He's eccentric. He's enigmatic. He's
01:07 highly intellectual, highly, very, very bright man. You don't create the most famous Chocolate
01:16 Factory in the world without being intelligent and bright and quick witted. And, you know,
01:22 he doesn't take any prisoners really Wonka.
01:25 Does he like children very much, do you think?
01:28 Well, I think he does. You see, this is the irony of it. I think he can relate better
01:33 to children than he can with adults. Because in our version as well, that he's locked himself
01:38 after he was betrayed by his workforce, who went out and stole his secrets and set up
01:43 their own factories. He closed the factory down. And that's where the Oompa Loompas came
01:49 in. But the factory reopened, but nobody went in and nobody came out. So there's all who's
01:53 making the chocolate. So for in our version, he's locked himself away with the Oompa Loompas
01:58 for 40 years. Now, when he, when the golden ticket winners arrive, you can understand
02:04 why his social skills are a little bit off kilter. If you haven't had interaction with
02:11 a human being for 40 years, but considering that...
02:14 That must be fun to play.
02:16 It's so much fun. I mean, so much fun. And his sense of humour is absolutely marvellous.
02:23 You know, it really is. I love him.
02:25 I think when you read it, you sort of wonder, is it just this Bonka story or is there more
02:30 to it? But you think it's a moral story, don't you?
02:33 I do actually. It's a moral tale. I mean, I think he invites, he launches this competition,
02:42 so to speak, for these five golden ticket winners, because I think he's looking for
02:46 an heir, for someone to take over the factory, because he doesn't give Charlie the keys to
02:50 the factory at the end of our show, just on a whim, just because he just suddenly thinks,
02:57 "Oh, I tell you what, why didn't you have the keys to my factory?" He's obviously been
03:01 thinking that that's the reason why he's invited these children. So, and who could believe
03:08 that what the motley crew that win these tickets, all of them entitled, spoiled children with
03:16 very bad parenting, and they come along and he tells each one and he says, "Now, look,
03:21 don't go into the water, chocolate waterfall. Don't put that chewing gum in your mouth.
03:27 Do not interact with the giant squirrel at your own peril. Do that." Because I don't
03:33 know how many people would dare go near it. And don't go into that chocolate television,
03:42 you know, because you will be shrunk, you know, and what do they do? They all do. So
03:46 what he feels is disappointment. So he tells them, don't do it. And they do it. So there's
03:51 your moral tale. That's the moral tale. And the one person that he, the one person he
03:57 doesn't, who just remains quiet and in the background is Charlie Bucket. And he doesn't
04:02 even notice him most of the time. Because he's just, he becomes like, blends in with
04:08 the background, it becomes a little bit insignificant, really.
04:10 That's the way to succeed in life then, clearly.
04:13 Well, yeah, until he discovers his, Charlie's own inventions that he's written down on this
04:20 piece of paper for his sweet chocolate inventions. And then he, Wonka sees himself in Charlie,
04:27 sees himself when he was a child and goes, and like a light bulb, ping, there he is.
04:34 There I am. There.
04:35 And you as an actor will never get to the end of this character, will you? You're more
04:40 than 200 performances in. There's always something more to play with, isn't there?
04:45 Every, I mean, it's the truth. Every single night I discover something else about this
04:50 fabulous character. It's wonderful, wonderful man.
04:54 Well, I'm so much looking forward to seeing it in Southampton at Mayflower Theatre, August
05:00 16th to September 3rd. Really lovely to speak to you, Mr Wonka.
05:05 You too. Thank you.
05:06 Thank you.
05:06 [COUGH]