CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORYANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE IMAGINATION AWARDS
The award-winning West End production of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory today announced the winners of The Imagination Awards, a national competition to encourage and inspire young people to embrace their creativity and the power of the imagination.
Hundreds of budding inventors, aged 5-15, from across the UK, submitted their inventions for a solution to a problem in the world around them, while aspiring theatre designers, aged 13-21, created original set or costume designs for a chance to win a VIP visit and behind-the-scenes experience to the hit West End show.
The winners are seven year old Tom William Bauss from North London who invented the Super Float Boat, an unsinkable vessel to help with the current refugee crisis and to stop people getting wet at sea.
10 year old McKenzie Cameron from Loughton, Essex won the judges’ vote with the Memory Maker – an edible sweet wrapper to trigger precious memories for a forgetful grandparent.
And 13 year old Stephanie Wong from Barking impressed with The Next Level, a device which creates new platforms in any space at the touch of a button.
The Young Theatre Designers Award also received many fascinating, inspiring and creative entries across two age categories, 13-18 and 19-21, for set and costume design.
The winners for costume are announced as Kathryn Weaving, 18, of Scotby whose David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix-inspired designs caught the eyes of the judges, and Aidan Biddiscombe, 20, of Swansea, for his Victorian and sixties-fused creations.
The winners of the set design category are Dora Furnival, 17, from Stroud in Gloucestershire for her quirky and shabby chic Bucket Shack model, and 20 year oldSophie Cowdrey from Havant, Hampshire who also created a home for the Buckets, inspired by period cottages and popular culture.
Producer Caro Newling said: “Imagination is at the heart of all of Roald Dahl’s work and none more so than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Through the Imagination Awards we’ve seen inventions and designs that rival Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket’s boundless creations. It’s been a privilege to choose our winners and to be able to engage with a national appetite for the opportunity to connect with creative industries.”
The awards have been supported by renowned educationalist Sir Ken Robinson, who is Patron of the awards, and a stellar judging panel including director Sam Mendes.
Entries came in many different forms including pictures, stories, and even short films for Charlie’s Challenge which invited creations from three age categories, ages 5-7, 8-11 and 12-15. The three winners each receive an Imagination Pack full of prizes to encourage invention and creativity, plus a VIP trip to London to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
As the school that submitted the most entries with nearly 200 submissions, Risdene Academy in Northamptonshire has won a visit and talk from judge and the Science Museum’s Inventor In Residence, Mark Champkins, plus a story-telling workshop.
The Young Theatre Designers Award winners each win a VIP trip to London to meet with the creative team, see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and experience it from backstage, getting an exclusive look at how the world of Roald Dahl’s much loved story is brought to life on the West End stage.
The full winners and shortlist entries are available to view atwww.imaginationawards.co.uk
The Imagination Awards were divided into two separate awards:
Charlie’s Challenge: a national award for 5-15 year olds (in three age categories, 5-7, 8-11, 12-15), looking for creative inventions and ideas which would benefit a family member.
Judges: Roma Agrawal, James Anderson, Mark Champkins, Emily Mulhall
The Young Theatre Design Award was open to 13-21 year olds across the UK (in two age categories, 13-18 and 19-21) and split into two separate categories: Set Design and Costume Design.
Judges: Sam Mendes, Jess Moore, Caro Newling, Mark Thompson
Charlie’s Challenge was designed to be inclusive for all young people. The award encouraged creativity in the classroom, and championed invention and imagination as valuable skills for any future career. The production created resources to help unlock the doors to the world of theatre, and to showcase opportunities in the arts that exist for young people interested in the process of theatre making and design.
The Young Theatre Design Award looked for those who have already experimented with set and costume design, and also sought out aspiring artists and those with relevant skills who have not yet considered a career in the theatre industry.
The judging panel for the awards includes:
- Members of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory creative team including: Sam Mendes, Director; Caro Newling, Producer; Mark Thompson, Set and Costume Designer
- Jess Moore, Executive Director of Corporate Responsibility, Warner Bros.
- Roma Agrawal, Structural Engineer, WSP Group
- James Anderson, 18 year old entrepreneur and founder of Thinkspace
- Mark Champkins, Inventor in Residence, Science Museum
- Emily Mulhall, Animator
Since opening in 2013, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has offered teachers numerous ways to explore the show through an educational ‘Page-to-Stage’ resource that includes activities and exercises for students to bring the musical to life in the classroom. January 2016 has seen the launch of the new official Charlie and the Chocolate Factory school workshops in the areas of drama, singing, dance, musical theatre and storytelling.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has also provided 15 one-week paid backstage work experience placements and three eight-week paid internships through the Golden Tickets scheme, part of Warner Bros. Creative Talent, a programme of investment in skills and training for the UK creative industries.
Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has quickly become one of the West End’s most popular and successful stage musicals, and has regularly broken records at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, where it has been seen by over 2 million people since it opened in June 2013. It currently sits in the top three longest-running productions of the last 50 years at the historic venue, one of London’s largest theatres. The show recently celebrated its 1250th performance and received a London Lifestyle Award for Theatre Show of the Year, as voted for by readers of the London Evening Standard. It also won two Olivier awards in April 2014.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory presented its first ‘relaxed performance’ on 19 January 2016. Presented in association with Mousetrap Theatre Projects, the relaxed performance was aimed at families with one or more children with special needs. It was designed to provide an opportunity for people with autism, learning difficulties or other sensory and communication needs, who require a more relaxed environment, to enjoy the show.
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.
The Official Cast Recording album is available on Sony Records, on CD and download.
This world premiere musical is produced by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Neal Street Productions and Langley Park Productions.
www.CharlieandtheChocolateFactory.com
Box Office: 0844 858 8877
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5JF
Booking until January 2017