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]
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