‘Charlotte and the Chocolate Factory’: Classic Roald Dahl story gets an upgrade by theater that sparked outrage by changing main character’s gender
- Two young actresses play Charlie and alternate with two boys in the role
A theater company has sparked outrage after it cast girls to star in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.
The beloved story of a boy who discovers a golden ticket in a chocolate bar has been retold countless times in movies and on stage, but Playful Productions’ latest move to cast girls in the titular role has baffled some.
Producers hired two young actresses to play Charlie, who will alternate roles with two boys, as the production tours the UK.
The public has said they were baffled by the swap and wondered why it was necessary, The sun reports.
It comes after backlash earlier this year over proposed editing of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s books to make them less “offensive” to modern sensibilities.
Roald Dahl’s children’s book tells the story of a little boy who wins a trip to a chocolate factory
Young actress Amelia Minto was cast to play Charlie Bucket along with three other kids
Noah Walton is one of the guys who takes on the role of Charlie, who is famous for finding a golden ticket in a chocolate bar.
Young actresses Amelia Minto and Jessie-Lou Harvie were cast as Charlie Bucket in the latest production, sharing the role with boys Isaac Sudgen and Noah Walton.
A theatergoer in Cardiff reportedly said they were ‘stunned’ to see that Charlie was ‘a girl now’.
And a source also told The Sun: ‘It just confuses the public. The story is a classic and has nothing to do with gender, so it just seems like change to wake up.
Dahl’s stories and characters were brilliant. Viewers don’t want or need to change them.’
Whether or not classic works should be rewritten has become a hot topic of debate in recent months, with criticism that edits could curtail writers’ “freedom of expression.”
The beloved story of a boy who discovers a golden ticket in a chocolate bar has been retold countless times in movies and on stage
Publisher Puffin announced in February that words such as ‘fat’ should be removed from works such as Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.
Characters like Augustus Gloop were expected to only be called “huge” and Oompa Loompas were made gender neutral.
But after criticism, including from the Queen who demanded that they not restrict ‘freedom of expression’, the publisher made a huge U-turn, saying it had ‘listened to the debate’.
In recent months, publishers have removed words deemed offensive in books by late authors Dahl, Christie, Wodehouse and Fleming.
Playful Productions has been contacted for comment.