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:

7 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.

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 old Sophie 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 at www.imaginationawards.co.uk

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