Charlie Bucket once found a golden ticket hidden inside a humble chocolate bar. Singapore theatre goers, on the other hand, may find theirs hidden under their seat at Sands Theatre. Sounds exactly like the sort of cheeky trick Willy Wonka himself would dream up after a breakfast of Fizzy Lifting Drinks and seven spoonfuls of nonsense. Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has finally tiptoed, skipped and somersaulted into Singapore, taking over Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands for a delightful short season.
The Wonka-whizzpoppingness begins even before the curtain rises. Wander through Marina Bay Sands and discover purple lights glowing across giant towers as if an Oompa Loompa had accidentally spilt magical grape juice all over the skyline.
Near the theatre entrance sits a chocolatey masterpiece made with 20 kilograms of chocolate paint by Singapore chocolatier Janice Wong. Looks suspiciously like the sort of thing Augustus Gloop would attempt to lick when nobody is watching. Please don’t!
More than 8,000 Golden Tickets have been hidden beneath selected theatre seats during the run. Not pretend tickets. Real ones. Hidden like tiny nuggets of Wonka treasure waiting to surprise unsuspecting theatre-goers. Every performance will become a giant game of theatrical hide-and-seek.
And because no proper Wonka adventure should end without edible silliness, Marina Bay Sands has transformed itself into a giant candy-coated playground. Chocolate milkshakes, theatrical desserts, whimsical pastries and collectable chocolate bars appear throughout the resort like delicious little side quests. By the end of the evening, you realise this is not simply a musical. It is a scrumdiddlyumptious adventure where theatre, food and fantasy all tumble together into one gloriumptious, wondercrump experience. Somewhere, Willy Wonka is probably grinning. And somewhere else, Augustus Gloop is probably asking for seconds.
Having tumbled into the gala premiere on 20 May 2026, we expected a perfectly delightful evening. What we did not expect was to find ourselves giggling like children who had accidentally swallowed Fizzy Lifting Drinks. The Oompa Loompas were gloriously bonkers. Their silly expressions, cheeky mannerisms and wonderfully odd performances had us grinning every time they appeared. Keep your eyes on them because they are tiny bundles of scene-stealing mischief.
If you have already read Roald Dahl’s book or watched the film, you’ll know exactly where Charlie’s Golden Ticket adventure leads. So even during the occasional moments when a few words drifted off into the great chocolatey clouds overhead, the story remained easy enough to follow and enormously entertaining all the same.
Wonka and company also have a few extra theatrical tricks tucked up their sleeves. Little surprises pop up throughout the show like secret sweets hidden in the corner of a candy shop. We shall not become rotten spoiler-splurgers and reveal them here. Some magical things are best discovered by your own eyeballs.
And then came one especially cheeky moment that made the Singapore audience chuckle. Listen carefully because Willy Wonka suddenly bursts into a tune that may sound very familiar to local ears. Let us just say Mr Wonka appears to have spent some time studying Singapore culture between inventing Everlasting Gobstoppers and chocolate rivers.
And a special Golden Ticket deserves to go to Oliver Wong, who plays Charlie Bucket with bucketloads of charm and heart. In a role that demands innocence, wonder and enough optimism to fill an entire chocolate factory, he delivers a performance that feels warm and genuine from start to finish. Charlie is the character audiences are meant to root for, and Oliver makes that effortless. You find yourself following his journey with wide-eyed curiosity as he steps deeper into Wonka’s marvellous world. Much like a perfectly made Everlasting Gobstopper, his performance leaves a sweet impression that lingers long after the curtain falls.
If you are planning a visit to Willy Wonka’s wonderfully whizzpopping world, you must be quick because this chocolatey adventure only stays in Singapore from 19 May to 14 June 2026 at Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands. The curious and the chocolate-obsessed may tumble in on weekday evenings at 8pm, while Saturdays and Sundays offer extra opportunities for glorious Golden Ticket holders and eager Oompa Loompa admirers.
The whole affair lasts 2 hours and 10 minutes, including a 20-minute pause, just enough time to stretch your legs and wonder whether squirrels secretly sort nuts backstage, albeit morbid during the performance. Tickets start at S$88 for sensible folk and rise all the way to S$258 for the most wondercrump Wonka Golden Surprise seats, with special VIP boxes available for those feeling particularly rich, grand, and magnificently chocolatey.
Featured Image credit: Coleman Simmons as Charlie Bucket and Claire Leyden as Mrs. Bucket. Roald Dahl’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. Photo by Jeremy Daniel