The Unknown from Willy's Chocolate Experience scares London Dungeon visitors

April 08, 2024

The breakout star of the infamous Willy Wonka-inspired event in Glasgow has had a whale of a time "scaring the pants off the guests" at a top London visitor attraction.

Glasgow teenager Felicia Dawkins, 16, made headlines for her performance as The Unknown, an evil rival chocolate maker that lived in the walls of the factory.

Dressed in a black cape and silver face mask, terrified children were recorded wailing "no" in fear when she slipped out from behind a mirror.

The teenager put her first acting job experience to good use during a guest appearance at London Dungeon on Sunday, where she performed as a nun, a jester and a tower warden to the visiting crowds.

Ahead of her performances, Felicia was given training on immersive theatre acting and on the importance of timing, characterisation and delivery.

She also enjoyed a crash course on costuming and make-up to help deliver a "truly genuine scare experience".

Felicia described the experience as a "dream come true" and said it made a change not to have a script that had been AI-generated.

She added: "Spending this weekend with the London Dungeon has been so, so fun.

"The best thing for me was getting into character and scaring the pants off the guests, especially when I was playing the jester.

"It was hilarious seeing their faces when I jumped out, they were so scared. It felt amazing knowing that people came to see me in action, I hope I made them jump out of their skin.

"This has really cemented my dream to become an actor - working at the London Dungeon is now definitely my dream job, I would love to go back one day."

A London Dungeon spokesperson said the teen was a "natural in the art of the scare" and had "transitioned seamlessly from hopping out from behind mirrors to embodying the horribly scary historical figures we bring to life".

Willy's Chocolate Experience was brought to a halt on its opening day as parents demanded their money back amid complaints the event was not what was advertised and left some children in tears.

The £35-a-ticket experience at Box Hub was sold as a "chocolate fantasy like never before" where "dreams become reality".

Instead, families were met with a near-empty venue decorated with a handful of Wonka-themed props and a small bouncy castle.

Parents also told of how their children only received a couple of sweets and a quarter of a can of limeade.

Jack Proctor, from Coatbridge in North Lanarkshire, said his family "survived the legend that was Willy's Chocolate Experience".

Speaking of The Unknown, Mr Proctor told Sky News: "Our kids, like every kid in the place, were terrified of it.

"It was supposedly an evil chocolate maker that lived in the walls of the factory. Out of context it was weird, but nothing in there made sense, so it fit in well."

Glasgow mum Maryanne McCormack said her daughter retreated and hid in her jacket to get away from The Unknown.

She added: "Some of the other kids were upset. It was just very odd because I couldn't figure out the relevance."

Performers at the event described it as a place "where dreams went to die" and said the scripts had been AI-generated.

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Organiser Billy Coull later told of how his life had been "ruined" by the event.

Speaking in the Channel 5 documentary Wonka: The Scandal That Rocked Britain, Mr Coull said: "My life has been turned [upside down]. My life is ruined."

He added: "Because of everything that had happened, it ran into my personal life.

"I have lost my friends. I've lost the love of my life. I was made out to be the face of all evil. And genuinely, that's really not the case."

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