Charlie and the Chocolate Factory director Sam Mendes has had the perfect fillip ahead of the show opening in London at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane by winning the 2012 London Evening Standard British Film Award for Film of the Year for his latest Bond movie, Skyfall.
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory Director Sam Mendes
Skyfall proved to be the perfect Bond movie, and in Daniel Craig the 50-year franchise of James Bond films has been brought bang up to date by director Sam Mendes. There is a dark underlying atmosphere to Daniel Craig’s Bond, but with the well recognised theme tunes and a virtuoso 12-minute opening action sequence the film is also fantastic fun. There is depth and dry wit in the characters and as superb as Daniel Craig is, arguably the best ever James Bond, he is matched in the acting stakes by the accomplished screen and stage veteran, Dame Judi Dench playing M for the seventh and possibly last time.
The iconic Aston Martin was also back, as well as a deliciously dark and camp villain with a weird hairdo, possibly misunderstood in a comparable way with Willy Wonka, the eccentric and mysterious owner of the Chocolate Factory in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I wonder if Sam Mendes took his inspiration for the Bond villain Silva, from the weird and wonderful Willy Wonka?
If director Sam Mendes can work similar magic on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the musical then the show in London promises to be a spectacular extravaganza. Drawing parallels with Skyfall we can expect the stage adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to contain some spectacular action sequences, and the uplifting, floating lemonade sequence is sure to benefit from Mendes’s sharp direction. Can we expect Charlie, the central character, to display the same depth of character as Daniel Craig does as James Bond? We certainly hope so. And will renowned theatre actor, Douglas Hodge, show the same sarcasm and complex characteristics as famed theatre actress, Dame Judi Dench? Plus we fully expect Hodge as Willy Wonka to display the same simultaneous mysteriousness and freakiness as Javier Bardem, who played the Bond villain, Silva. We can certainly expect that Willy Wonka will outdo Silva in the hair-style department!
Skyfall whilst extraordinary was also believable and tugged at the heartstrings on more than one occasion, as you connected with the characters and the storyline. Sam Mendes will surely take the more heart-warming story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and similarly tug at the proverbial heartstrings with even more vigour.
Skyfall is possibly the best Bond film of the all. Will Sam Mendes deliver the best Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, beating the 1971 film starring Gene Wilder and the 2005 remake starring Johnny Depp? Well if Skyfall is anything to go by, then we can expect Mendes to deliver a deliciously dark tale with wonderful humour and spectacular style.
And what of the Oompa Loompas? Will Mendes be deploying them as villainous henchman in his next Bond movie?
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tickets are now on sale. The show previews from the 18th May 2013 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London with the opening night World Premiere gala scheduled for the 25th June 2013.
