Image source, Jenny Fogarty
Jenny Fogarty and Kirsty Patterson have been hired to play the Oompa Loompas
- author, Megan Bonar
- Role, Glasgow and West Reporter
International fame is not what two aspiring Glasgow actresses expected when they signed up for a weekend acting job.
Kirsty Paterson and Jenny Fogarty were hired to play Oompa Loompas in Willy Wonka's now-infamous Chocolate Experience in Glasgow last weekend, but they admitted they had “no idea what they were walking into”.
Hundreds of families were disappointed after they paid to attend the event, which was canceled midway through its first day. At some point the police were called.
Pictures of the experiment spread on social media and made headlines around the world.
Organizers House of Illuminati have apologized, promised a refund, and said they will not hold any future events.
Kirsty Patterson, 29, who has been described as a “sad Oompa Loompa” on social media, was shocked by the reaction.
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She told BBC Scotland News: “We're just ordinary people, I can't believe this has happened.
“When we got the job, we had no idea what we were walking into.
“You just have to throw yourself in and play the character. We had fun, that's all you can do.”
In her day job, Kirsty is a firefighter and trainee yoga instructor from Glasgow.
“We showed up on the Friday – bearing in mind we had already signed a contract by this point – and looked at the scene and it was completely surreal,” she said.
Image source, Eva Stewart
Customers were angry because the event was not advertised
The experience has been advertised as a Wonka wonderland, using images created using artificial intelligence.
Instead, the women found “a few pieces of fabric hanging” and a place that was “very poorly put together.”
“I thought they would work all night to make it look better, but it wasn't,” Kirsty said.
“I think all the parents who attended can attest, we were gentle, we didn't make the kids cry, we really did our best.”
Jenny said she did her best to maintain her figure despite the circumstances
Fellow Oompa Loompa Jenny Fogarty, 25, is a production designer and small business owner originally from Dublin but now living in Glasgow.
She added: “We decided to do our best, under these circumstances.
“We're experienced in working with kids, so we were just trying to make it as fun for them as possible.
“It was really difficult, there were kids coming in with birthday badges, some of them dressed as little Willy Wonka, and they were so excited to come we had to say ‘sorry, this is it’.”
Kirsty and Jenny said they went through three 45-minute performances before they were asked to abandon the script they had been given just 12 hours earlier.
That was when “everything started going downhill,” they said.
Image source, Stuart Sinclair
Props were scattered around the place
Image source, Stuart Sinclair
Police were called to the event described as a 'Willy Wonka Experience' as angry families demanded refunds.
Videos about the event have been viewed hundreds of millions of times on TikTok, Twitter and Facebook.
The event made headlines in newspapers such as the New York Times and the Washington Post.
Kirsty said her newfound fame was “overwhelming”.
“People need to remember that I did not put myself in danger, so I was exposed to this publicity without really consenting,” she said.
“I don't really use social media, so it was mental.”
The reaction became so overwhelming, that she turned off her phone for two days.
“I have an incredibly thick skin, and I'm always happy to make a joke of myself, but I think it became too much for me when it was out of my control,” she said.
“People were ignoring my appearance and everything else.”
Kirsty said she was able to see the funny side of it now but felt compelled to speak out to show the person behind the green wig.
Image source, Jenny Fogarty
Kirsty Patterson and Jenny Fogarty can see the funny side of the situation now
Jenny said she came off much lighter than many of her trolled colleagues but was still inundated with messages.
“I had friends from different countries telling me they had heard about it,” she said.
“I've had YouTubers I used to watch when I was 14 posting about me, it's weird.
“Despite all the craziness we've seen this past week, it's brought so many smiles and so much joy to people, it's been such a whirlwind experience. I don't think any of us were expecting this when we got a weekend job. It's crazy the way it's blown up.”
“I'm trained as a production designer. I haven't been able to get jobs for a few years, so I hope this helps with that. I can definitely make a better show.”
Kirsty and Jenny were only paid half the agreed fee for the event.
Organizers, House of Illumanati, said on social media that they would not be holding any future events.
A petition has been launched to repeat the experiment, while Scottish actress Karen Gillan has said she wants to star in a film adaptation of the event.
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