** WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS ABSOLUTELY NO SPOILERS **

On 19th March 2026, This is Haslemere spent an evening behind the scenes of The Haslemere Players for an early rehearsal of their next musical, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. Wonkamania is coming to Haslemere and we were so lucky to be offered a small taster.

On arrival at Haslemere Hall, an anxious Oompa Loompa declared this was one of their first rehearsals and was wary that we may not see the theatre company at its best. Perhaps looking unsettled ourselves, as it was the first time we’d ever seen the very early stages of a theatre production and it was our first time meeting an Oompa Loompa in real life, we were soon put at ease when another Oompa Loompa offered us a mug of tea.

We were about to get comfortable in the tiered seating, with our pen, paper and mug of tea, when we met Howard Bicknell who is the manager of Haslemere Hall. He revealed he was performing the part of Grandpa George, one of Charlie Bucket’s grandparents. We wondered how someone as lovely and jolly as Howard might take on such a cantankerous role…

Then, we met Ricky Dyer who acts, sings, dances in the production and also manages the marketing for The Haslemere Players. We lost count of the number of roles performed by Ricky in this play, seven we think! Ricky pointed out the key people at the evening’s rehearsal. The play is directed by Tony Creasey. Mandy Boughton is choreographer. Justin Luke is musical director. Claire is in the green room managing props and Lynn is responsible for costumes including those of the Oompa Loompas. Matthew is on lighting and his work began much earlier in the day. He and Tony had already spent four hours together plotting the lighting.

Tony takes up his place in the director’s chair behind two white trestle tables with the script in front of him and a large notebook for his handwritten production notes. He asks his cast of around 30 performers to brace themselves for nine solid days of dress rehearsals and performances.

The rehearsal begins with everyone in position. We were about to watch both acts of the whole show, without furniture and scenery, some in costume, some not. Two young actors play Charlie Bucket in this production and swap scenes throughout the rehearsal. The other four Golden Ticket Winners - Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde and Mike TeeVee - bring a whole heap of attitude to the stage. These are young amateur performers with good voices, movement and diction. The ensemble and Oompa Loompas deliver their moves with sheer joy. It is hard playing Willy Wonka (Nathan Basley) as we all know the story and have seen film versions. Nathan pitches it well though. He is not too weird and he is not too nice and he doesn’t overshadow Charlie Bucket. All the while, choreographer Mandy observes from all angles, storing up advice and pointers for the crew. Keeping the whole production flowing is Justin Luke on his keyboard. He moves the rehearsal along brilliantly. There is a prompter near to Justin, helping with those forgotten lines - not many though, even at this early stage.

After Act One, we spoke with Tony Creasey who said this was their first full run through of the whole play and they were building up to a full rehearsal the next day with the technical team too. He was really pleased with and proud of progress thus far. He praised the crew and he said that on the night, there’ll be 50 to 60 volunteers behind the scenes (raffle sellers, front of house, prompters, costumes, props, lighting etc.) He said, “It is a huge undertaking. The whole cost of staging is £28,000. We have the hall and costume hire and professional musicians too.”

In front of a live audience, there will be an 8-piece band with Justin Luke conducting. Honestly, he was so good and precise during this rehearsal, we asked him about his music background. Justin studied at the Royal Academy of Music and has been Sub-Organist at The King’s Chapel of the Savoy since 2002. He has regular organ recitals at St. Bart’s Church in Haslemere. The Haslemere Players are very lucky to have had Justin on board since 2012.

We got the chance to speak with Grandma Georgina (Mary Coyte) who first performed with The Haslemere Players in 1974. That is a long association that gives her “companionship, friendship and escapism”. She continued, “I just enjoy it!” She has directed, acted, and in recent years been involved with props and costumes. She is also involved with The Haslemere Thespians and The Grayshott Stagers. She was proud to share that her daughter has the part of Augustus Gloop in this production. As we chatted, someone handed her a cane for Willy Wonka and asked her to work her magic on it with masking tape. She laughed, “I’ve got myself another job!” Unlike Grandma Georgina, there is no lounging around in bed all day for Mary. She is also a Beaver scout leader in Liphook where she had volunteered just an hour before rehearsing here!

Veruca Salt also chatted with us at the end of the evening. This part is performed by Hannah Lucas in a pink ballerina dress, with off-the-scale brattishness. Hannah has been involved with The Haslemere Players for 16 years and just loves it all. She shared, “I really like the social side. I’ve made really good friends and it’s fun. Yes, it’s hard work, not just at rehearsals but also all the practising we put in at home. But it is a great hobby and I love performing!” Hannah’s father and aunt have also been part of The Haslemere Players for many years and her father is an Oompa Loompa in this production.

At the end of the rehearsal, everyone gathered in the auditorium for the Director’s Notes. Here he discussed various demeanours, stage positions, diction, comedy, seriousness, wording, bubble gum guidance for Violet Beauregarde, musical timing, dancing, what went well, how the staging might work, Willy Wonka’s cane movement, ensemble praise, Golden Ticket Winner advice, where to laugh, where to hold that laughter back, the positioning of the liquorice allsorts, technique for walking through doors and Grandpa George’s requirement to be more grumpy (our view, Howard is so good as Grandpa George). Mandy Boughton (choreographer) interjected with dance advice for the Oompa Loompas and ensemble. Whilst these instructions were delivered and discussed, stage hands were busy behind working through scenery and prop moves.

We came away with an overwhelming impression of the sheer hard work and dedication of this amateur theatre company. We have given you no spoilers and urge you to go and see one of the six performances of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory which will be running from Wednesday 25th March to Sunday 29th March in Haslemere Hall. Weekend ticket availability is low but there is good availability on 25th and 26th March.

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