Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Theatre Royal. Drury Lane. West End

If Willy Wonka made a chocolate bar called Stupendous then it would be sold at this production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Forget any concerns that by moving Roald Dahl's best known children's tale from the silver screen to the West End theatre it would be overshadowed by its former Hollywood incarnations. Director Sam Mendez has created a modern theatre classic.

The Theatre Royal Drury Lane staging is tremendous. Funny, moving, fast- paced and as imaginative as anything Mr Wonka might have dreamed up himself, the musical is a heady mixture of theatre magic and hi-tech wizardry that had the audience interrupting the performance to cheer and applaud at regular intervals. The final standing ovation was simply everything the production deserved. A new musical - only the haunting Pure Imagination is a nod to the original 1971 film version - the hits keep coming. Douglas Hodge plays Mr Wonka in grand, self- deprecating style. The gags flow almost as fast as Mr Hodge's acrobatic footwork as he gamboles through his factory ahead of his visiting party of lucky Golden Wonka Chocolate Bar Ticket winners. It is a tour- de- force by the actor who has the commanding presence to hold the stage as the slightly bonkers, charismatic genius who has hidden away from the world in his chocolate factory for the last 40 years.

Nigel Planer plays Grandpa Joe, being gifted by writers David Greig, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman with some of the best one-liners. Even the many Americans in the opening night audience would have understood his mangled references to famous British historical characters.

A host of actors play the main children's roles, including, of course, obese Augustus Gloop, gum-chewing Violet Beauregarde, TV-obsessed Mike Teavee and the appalling spoilt brat of all spoilt brats Veruca Salt. Charlie Bucket was played by Tom Klenerman for this production in fine style.

The challenge of how to stage the Oompa-Loompas is overcome in several imaginative ways, their tap- dancing antics a big hit with the audience.

With jokes and special effects until the final curtain, this is a show that the audience enjoys down to the last morsel: much like a Wonka Chocolate Bar.