\If I had any doubts about whether the musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel, would appeal to children, I only had to look at the boy aged around nine or 10 sitting next to us, whose delight said it all. He had already told us beforehand that he knew the book and had seen both the 1971 film starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, and the 2005 movie starring Johnny Depp. At the end of the show, he was grinning from ear to ear, thrilled at some of the special effects and having enjoyed it all.

Ryan Yeates and Paul Slade Smith. Photograph © Jeff Busby

I wasn’t as blown away by the musical as him; act one takes time to hit its groove, the staging feels rather low-budget, and some of the songs are forgettable. But it’s still an enjoyable show and very well performed in this Australian production, which has its premiere season in Sydney.

With a book by David Greig, and songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray), the musical first opened in London’s West End in 2013 in a lavishly staged production directed...