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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory launch Imagination Awards

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory have launched an amazing competition to inspire the next generation of theatre makers.

Renowned educationalist Sir Ken Robinson will be the Patron of The Imagination Awards, the competition launched by the award-winning West End production of Roald Dahl’s classic tale.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory hope to champion creativity with the awards, while director Sam Mendes leads an all-star judging panel.

“When we were creating Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, one of the key things we always wanted to get across was the importance of the imagination,” Sam explains. “Creating something out of nothing is miraculous – that’s what Roald Dahl did, it’s what Charlie Bucket and Willy Wonka do, and it’s what we’re celebrating with this prize.”

The judging panel for the awards will also include:

Sam Mendes, Director
Caro Newling, Producer
Mark Thompson, Set and Costume Designer
Jess Moore, Director of Corporate Responsibility, Warner Bros.
Roma Agrawal, Structural Engineer, WSP Group
James Anderson, 18 year old entrepreneur and founder of Thinkspace
Mark Champkins, Inventor in Residence, Science Museum
Emily Mulhall, Animator

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The Imagination Awards themselves are divided into two separate awards:

Charlie’s Challenge: a national award for 5-15 year olds (in three age categories, 5-7, 8-11, 12-15), looking for creative inventions and ideas which would benefit a family member. It can be an invention or idea that would help one person, or something that will help the whole family.
Judges: Roma Agrawal, James Anderson, Mark Champkins, Emily Mulhall
Prize: The winner will 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. The school that submits most entries will receive an Imagination Workshop at their school and a talk from one of the judges.

The Young Theatre Design Award is open to 16-18 year olds across the UK and is split into two separate categories: Set Design and Costume Design. Young designers are asked to submit an original set or costume design for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Judges: Sam Mendes, Jess Moore, Caro Newling, Mark Thompson
Prize: The winner from each category will be invited to London to meet with the creative team and watch a matinee performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, before experiencing the production from backstage during the evening performance.

You can enter to The Imagination Awards today, with the competition closing on Monday 6 June. Head to imaginationawards.com for full details.

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