THE PASSMORES Academy annual musical has become one of the highlights of our year.

Wild horses wouldn’t keep us away. Gridlocked traffic in Harlow nearly did.

This year, they took on Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

There is a lot going on in “Charlie” and you did wonder how on earth a school production was going to do it.

The first clever technique was to widen the stage area so the bed-ridden grandparents were on the left hand side of the stage.

The four grandparents were splendid. Once again, Harrison Houghton as Grandpa Joe was stealing nearly every scene. He did that because he is a very good actor. He is set to go to the London College of Performing Arts next year. We wish him well.

But well done to his fellow grandparents: Lizzy Panagi, Austeja Garmata and a very surly Ethan Toku Appleton.

This is where we meet the debutant, Oscar Bricknell, who played Charlie Bucket. From the very start, he lit up the stage. Oscar deserved an Oscar (isn’t it an Olivier?-Ed) for being the embodiment of Charlie. He was a joy to watch.

Infact, that was the key to the success of this production. Every actor really embodied each character.

Take for example, the five winners of the golden ticket. We are sure Evie Vaughan won’t mind us saying that she really was Veruca Salt. We are sure her tantrums could be heard in London! But is it an easy character to overact in. She was pitch-perfect.

What Evie did as well as all the others did was to rein it in, act as part of a company and we were all the better for it.

The same could be said of debutant Kai Wilkinson who played Augustus Gloop. He was an absolute joy. We look forward to seeing Kai in future productions. He was ably assisted by an energetic Molly Croome as Mrs Gloop. A great double act, who both displayed excellent comic timing.

Rachel Ricketts is only Year 8 but already has quite a CV behind her. Her Mike Teavee was a wing, grungy, tele-addict. Again, Rachel has great energy and timing.

Daisy Wilson made Violet Beauregarde her own. Daisy used her dance experience to create a really funky Daisy whilst continuing to be annoying. She was again a great duo with Shakil Surer, who played her father.

The actors who played the parents were so good. They made each character their own. That also includes Sophia Franklin as Mrs Teavee.

Sophia’s role was also a subtle character, very much like Hannais Luzitu’s Mrs Bucket. A very gentle performance, working with her colleague. But also a lovely singer.

This is where the staging a production comes in. Each number was so vibrant. The stage bathed in colours. The wonderful costumes. From lederhosen, newspapers, sausages, pink suits, fat suits and hot air balloons.

This is also where the Year 10 and Year 11 ensemble come in. Getting thirty Oompa-Loompas one stage, off stage and back to the back and on again was an astounding piece of choreography.

And the amount of work that must have gone in from wardrobe. This where you appreciate how many man hours have gone in, through winter, spring and summer to bring this musical.

The key scene in Charlie is the demise of the ticket winners. They are performed with such imagination.

There is a long list of creatives and crew in the programme and each and every one deserves credit.

This reviewer was sat at the back and you really did appreciate the work that is going on right throughout a production. Swans is all we will say!

As we mentioned pink suits, we wanted to name sure that TV reporters, Jerry (Isaac Lee) and Cherry (Faraya Honan) got the credit they deserve as well as an excellent Makiah Mfon as Mrs Green.

Last but not least., praise to Korban Doyle who played Willy Wonka. Passmores are going to miss one of the best performers they have ever produced. We loved his George Banks and his Gomez Adams and this added to his fine repertoire.

Korban was outstanding but like the others, worked so well with his actors. He commanded the stage and was the glue that brought the whole production together.

A wonderful singer, great comic timing and charm. We wish him well.

But as we said it was a testament to each performer that every single one, made the role, their very own.

This show is sold out for its three night run. That is some achievement but is also testament to the standards set by the Passmores Academy.

If you are going on Wednesday or Thursday, you are in for a treat.

Recommended: Five Stars *****