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A brand-new production of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, the musical adaptation of the story by Roald Dahl, will open at the London Coliseum for a strictly limited run next year. The production will be led by double Olivier Award-winning, Grammy nominated, multi-platinum recording artist Michael Ball OBE as Willy Wonka. Performances will run from 4 June 2027 until 18 September 2027.
The musical will feature the songs Pure Imagination, The Candy Man and I’ve Got a Golden Ticket from the classic 1971 film WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. They join the musical’s original score by Marc Shaiman, with lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and book by David Greig. Based on the novel by Roald Dahl and the Warner Bros. film. The production will be directed by Curve Artistic Director, Nikolai Foster. There will be a national press night on Sunday 20 June 2027.
Tickets are on sale Tuesday 29 September.
About Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Join Charlie Bucket on the adventure of a lifetime when he finds a golden ticket and discovers a world of wonder behind closed doors. Step through the factory gates into a spectacular world where chocolate rivers flow, Oompa-Loompas sing, inventions defy imagination and every room holds a delicious surprise. Alongside Grandpa Joe, Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde and Mike Teavee, Charlie discovers that nothing is quite as it seems inside Wonka’s extraordinary factory.
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY will originate at Curve, Leicester, and will be directed by Nikolai Foster (Bank of Dave, Curve; Legally Blonde, UK & Ireland Tour; Kinky Boots, London Coliseum and UK & international tours) with choreography by Ebony Molina (Avenue Q, Shaftesbury Theatre; Just for One Day, Old Vic), set design by Leslie Travers (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Donmar Warehouse; Road, Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester), costume design by Katrina Lindsey (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Palace Theatre and Broadway for which she won an Olivier Award for Best Costume Design, The Motive and the Cue, Noel Coward Theatre/National Theatre), lighting design by Ben Cracknell (Kinky Boots, London Coliseum; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, London Palladium), sound design by Adam Fisher (Sunset Boulevard, Adelphi Theatre & Broadway; Into the Woods, The Bridge Theatre), video design by George Reeve (Maybe Happy Ending, Broadway for which he won the Tony Award for Best Set Design; Hercules, Theatre Royal Drury Lane), wigs, hair and make-up design by Campbell Young Associates (High Society, Barbican; Paddington The Musical, Savoy Theatre), illusion design by Chris Fisher (Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Phoenix Theatre; Back To The Future: The Musical, Adelphi Theatre/North American Tour/Tokyo/ Sydney/Royal Caribbean Cruises), puppet design by Rachael Canning (The Wizard of Oz, Curve, London Palladium and UK tour), prop supervision by Marcus Hall Props (13 Going On 30, World Premiere), musical supervision by Stephen Brooker (Sunset Boulevard, Curve and National tour), orchestration adaptations by George Dyer (Kinky Boots, Curve, UK, Ireland and Europe tours and London Coliseum), musical direction by Isaac McCullough (Mary Poppins, UK and International tour), casting by Olivia Laydon (The Sound of Music, Curve) for Jill Green Casting, associate direction by Jordan Isaac (Kinky Boots, Curve, UK, Ireland, Europe tours and London Coliseum), associate sound design by Ollie Durrant (Kinky Boots, London Coliseum) and associate choreography by Dale White (Bank of David The Musical, Curve and Lowry).
Michael Ball OBE is one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers, a double Olivier Award-winning musical theatre star, Grammy-nominated recording artist and acclaimed radio and television presenter. Over a career spanning more than 40 years, he has become one of the UK’s leading figures in musical theatre, earning critical acclaim on both the West End and Broadway.
His theatre credits include Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (London Coliseum/English National Opera and Original West End Cast), Javert in Les Misérables – The Staged Concert (Gielgud Theatre and UK & Australia Arena Tour), Anatoly in Chess (London Coliseum/English National Opera), Mack in Mack and Mabel (Chichester Festival Theatre and UK Tour), the title role in Sweeney Todd (Adelphi Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre), for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical, The Woman in White (Palace Theatre and Broadway), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium), The Phantom of the Opera, Passion and restaging of Aspects of Love (West End & Broadway), and creating the role of Marius in the original West End production of Les Misérables. He also won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Edna Turnblad in the original West End production of Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre).
Alongside his stage career, Michael has enjoyed huge success as a recording artist, including a series of chart-topping albums with Alfie Boe, selling more than 1.6 million albums in the UK. He also presents his own BBC Radio 2 show and has fronted television programmes for the BBC, ITV and Channel 5.
A Sunday Times bestselling author, Michael has published two novels and a memoir, with his debut novel The Empire currently in development for television. In 2026, he released Glow, his 23rd solo album and his first collection of entirely original, self-written songs, marking a significant new chapter in his career. The album will also form the centrepiece of Michael’s upcoming theatre tour, Glow, bringing this new chapter to audiences live on stage.
