Michael Ball Sings 'Pure Imagination' Ahead of Willy Wonka Run

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Ball will star as Willy Wonka in a new production of the musical at the London Coliseum next year.

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Michael Ball has shared a video of himself performing the song "Pure Imagination" from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ! As BroadwayWorld previously announced, Ball will star as Willy Wonka in a new production of the musical adaptation of the story by Roald Dahl at the London Coliseum next year.

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Performances will run from 4 June 2027 until 18 September 2027. Tickets are on sale Tuesday 29 September.

The musical will feature the songs "Pure Imagination", "The Candy Man", and "I've Got a Golden Ticket" from the classic 1971 film WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley . They join the musical's original score by Marc Shaiman , with lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman , and book by David Greig . Based on the novel by Roald Dahl and the Warner Bros. film. The production will be directed by Curve Artistic Director, Nikolai Foster .

Check out the video!

Michael Ball OBE is one of Britain's best-loved entertainers, a double Olivier Award-winning musical theatre star, Grammy-nominated recording artist and acclaimed radio and television presenter. Over a career spanning more than 40 years, he has become one of the UK's leading figures in musical theatre, earning critical acclaim on both the West End and Broadway.

His theatre credits include Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (London Coliseum/English National Opera and Original West End Cast), Javert in Les Misérables – The Staged Concert (Gielgud Theatre and UK & Australia Arena Tour), Anatoly in Chess (London Coliseum/English National Opera), Mack in Mack and Mabel (Chichester Festival Theatre and UK Tour), the title role in Sweeney Todd (Adelphi Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre), for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical, The Woman in White (Palace Theatre and Broadway), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium), The Phantom of the Opera, Passion and restaging of Aspects of Love (West End & Broadway), and creating the role of Marius in the original West End production of Les Misérables. He also won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Edna Turnblad in the original West End production of Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre).

Alongside his stage career, Michael has enjoyed huge success as a recording artist, including a series of chart-topping albums with Alfie Boe , selling more than 1.6 million albums in the UK. He also presents his own BBC Radio 2 show and has fronted television programmes for the BBC, ITV and Channel 5.

A Sunday Times bestselling author, Michael has published two novels and a memoir, with his debut novel The Empire currently in development for television. In 2026, he released Glow, his 23rd solo album and his first collection of entirely original, self-written songs, marking a significant new chapter in his career. The album will also form the centrepiece of Michael's upcoming theatre tour, Glow, bringing this new chapter to audiences live on stage.

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Episode

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Video-Michael-Ball-Performs-Pure-Imagination-Ahead-of-CHARLIE-AND-THE-CHOCOLATE-FACTORY-Run-20260914)._