When the internet spent the better part of a week in February baking a Willy Wonka-themed family event in Glasgow gone wrong, there was plenty to laugh about: the mostly unadorned warehouse space, the AI-generated advert, the lack of chocolate and, of course, the sad Oompa Loompa.
Local actors hired to improvise based on a muddled script (also written by AI) played havoc in interviews, and some have since capitalized on their viral fame: that Oompa Loompa (real name Kristy Paterson) sells Cameo greetings, for example. But now it's time for the piece's more mysterious character to shine. That's right: the performer who brought “The Unknown” to life is taking her talents to the London Dungeon, a haunted tourist attraction where she'll spook those who paid for the treat.
In case you need a refresher: The Stranger was meant to be the villain of “Willy's Chocolate Experience,” an evil chocolatier who lived within the walls of Wonka's candy factory and wanted to steal one of his confectionary inventions. It was created by an AI chatbot and is definitely not based on any details Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or its film adaptations, the masked, cloaked figure became a symbol of the sheer absurdity of the event. It helped that the person who emerged from behind a mirror to threaten the children really committed to the piece.
The Unknown proved so popular, in fact, spawning memes and fan art, that immersive theater professionals took notice. Merlin Entertainments announced in a press release on Wednesday that the actress, a 16-year-old named Felicia, will be trained at the popular tourist destination London Dungeon before making a guest appearance to delight thrill-seekers there on April 7.
A spokesperson for London Dungeon (a franchise that has locations across the UK and Europe) says Felicia, who booked the Wonka gig as her first acting job, is “a natural when it comes to the art of horror” and promised that she would be even scarier in her next role. “If you thought The Unknown's mysterious character was unnerving, you ain't seen nothing yet,” they said.
Felicia, of course, was excited by the opportunity to participate in a higher quality production. “I look forward to meeting and learning from the team of experts at the London Dungeon, as I would like to do their job full-time one day,” he says, according to a statement from Merlin Entertainments, noting that he has visited the Dungeon's attractions frequently. as a guest.
Felicia also shared the news on her TikTok account, where it first appeared he stood up earlier this month in a clip that has more than 2 million views. She told her followers she was “going to take kids with me” as she prepared for the role. In other videos he has it answered questions of Wonka's destruction and advertised it Cameo accountwhere she records messages in her iconic costume.
Thankfully, the London Dungeon act will have the rehearsals and resources sorely lacking from Willy's Chocolate Experience – outraged parents called the police and demanded refunds once the pop-up closed. Even better, tickets are considerably cheaper than those sold for the Glasgow fiasco — and there's even a discount for kids brave enough to tackle The Unknown. As for Felicia's budding career, it just goes to show that there's more than one way to break into showbiz.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/willy-wonka-event-the-unknown-london-dungeon-1234987210/