Reviewed by Stacey
Matilda Jr (based off the Ronald Dahl book) tells the story of an intelligent, brave girl with a fierce sense of justice - Matilda. Her love for creating stories and her mysterious special powers help her take control of her own story and inspire her peers to do the same, taking down the evil headmistress Agatha Trunchbull. The project manager of this fantastic production is Joshua Taylor-Williams.
Despite the jr adaptation of the show being condensed, it still manages to keep the main songs and story beats required to keep the audience entranced in the incredible story and character arcs.
Poppy Branson delivers a powerful and truly impressive performance as the musicals lead Matilda. Poppy captures the iconic characters strength, intelligence and mischief with confidence and poise beyond her years. Her solo numbers “Naughty” and “Quiet” showcased her extremely impressive emotional range and ability to engage the audience with Matilda’s story. As well as her acting abilities, Poppy’s vocals sound like she came straight from the West End with extreme skill and crystal clear diction throughout.
Sienna Barnes plays Miss Agatha Trunchball in all her terrifying glory with a superb booming voice and impressive comedic timing. Her gleeful menace is executed extremely well both in her acting, commanding stage presence and powerful voice, owning every single moment. You truly feel the conflict between her and Matilda as well as her impact on the class with the ensemble's fear and then rebellion against her.
Millie Beech plays Miss Honey whose performance is filled with a sweet and heartfelt kindness that really highlights her growing bond with Matilda. Her sweet yet powerful vocals really get a chance to shine in the number “This Little Girl” showcasing Honey’s insecurities yet quiet strength and urge to do good.
The Wormwood household really further enhances the show's comedy from the second they enter the stage. Mr Wormwood is played by Ruben Bruen keeping an impressive consistent accent, physical mannerisms and commitment to character throughout the show. Mrs Wormwood is played by Isla Singleton who’s flashy and over the top personality can’t help but make you giggle, especially in her interactions with Mr Wormwood and Miss Honey. Michael Wormwood is played by Austin Parker, showcasing true commitment to character with his deadpan line deliveries which made the audience laugh without fail.
Hattie Moore plays Miss Phelps, the librarian who encourages Matilda’s love of storytelling and showcases true heartfelt yet comedic wonder and horror as Matilda’s story describes the tragic love story between an escapologist (played by William Ham) and an acrobat (played by Ruby Foster). The duo showcase impressive dance ability as well as highlighting the emotion behind the sad tale.
William Ham also makes an appearance as Miss Wormwood’s dancing instructor Rudolpho. William’s much shorter size difference with Isla as Miss Wormwood makes this casting choice extremely entertaining yet made even funnier by William's confidence and leaning into the comedy while appearing entirely committed to the role.
Other stand out roles throughout the show include Jenson Weston playing Bruce Bogtrotter with excellent comedic line delivery and vocals throughout. Hollie Smith playing Matilda’s best friend Lavender delivers a fun filled and mischievous performance.
The other named roles throughout the show and the ensemble overall are filled with energetic and talented young actors who bring every second of the show to life. With each child getting a chance to shine you truly see the immense range of talent this group of young performers has to offer. The future of Leicester’s amateur theatre scene is beyond bright. You can tell the show is something they’ll look back on and remember with fondness and the strong connections made between the cast and prevalent within their performances and teamwork.
The show is directed by Cathy Robinson, the spirit, charm and heart of the story clearly brought to life through her vision. There is a clear attention to detail, the parallels between Matilda and Miss Honeys struggles and connection especially clear and heartwarming. Physical comedy is also prominent throughout, major highlights being with the Wormwoods and the Miss Trunchbull attack on poor Amanda Thripp’s pigtails. The staging is dynamic throughout, making use of the space and letter block set pieces. It’s clear that Catchy (as well as other members of the team) ensured a supportive environment that allowed the performers to grow and shine. With such a large cast of kids with varying ages their ability to follow direction in such a tight and professional manner is truly impressive.
Ellie Barrat is the show's Musical Director, the musical numbers and vocals being an absolute highlight of the show. The level of attention to detail, diction, vocal variety, technique and the layering of harmonies and other vocal lines are executed so well the cast sounds like they could do their own west-end level cast recording! It’s clear Barrat has a clear understanding of the casts vocal abilities, bringing out the best in them and allowing each a moment to shine.
Jacob Bale’s choreography helps bring each number to life with the young performers giving their all to each and every movement. A highlight of the show is the popular number “Revolting Children” where this energy and fierce sense of rebellion is clear in every movement, the audience clapping along and fully engaged in the performance. Each moment feels like an extension of the characters emotions and highlights Jacobs ability to tell a story through motion. The show's dance captain is Emily Dryhurst. With how many numbers there are within the show and their variety it is clear a lot of hard work went into these numbers and the incredible cast 100% delivered.
The show's sound was done by Tom Brooks who with such a large cast of performers to keep up with did an incredible job. While there were some minor mic issues throughout, these were very rare, quickly amended and didn’t take away from the performance.
The show's lighting done by James Ansell breathes life into every corner of the stage and elevates the atmosphere and immersion of the show.
The costumes were provided by Ariel Costume Hire and Andrea Bruen, perfectly encapsulating the iconic characters and variety of scenes/locations.
The set (provided by King Academy) helps to thread the story together with the Wormwoods house hold, Library and Whiteboard (representing the school) stabilised throughout the show with other set pieces and projections representing other scene changes. The visionary behind the set design was Ellie Barrat, a clear understanding of the themes and look of Matilda being understood and the stage almost feeling like a pop up storybook.
A minor detail which may have enhanced the projected backgrounds may have been more consistent with their style, with some showcasing realistic backgrounds and others being illustrated ones (better reflecting the storybook feel of the show). This is extremely minor detail however and didn’t take away from the show, using the assets that were available which were still extremely effective.
A major highlight of the projections was the use of homemade video footage during the popular number “When I Grow Up”. This sequence was one of the highlights of the show and the footage provided of the young cast is full of childhood nostalgia and joy. This heartwarming number is furthered even more so by the inclusion of a member of the cast standing to the side throughout the song reciting it in sign language (getting a very well deserved bow after the number).
It’s no surprise the production is a sell out and rightfully so with all the hard work that’s gone into the show - the cast and crew deserving every bit of appreciation (which was evident by the show's quick standing ovation during the bows). A shout out must also be given to the front of house team at the Sue Townsend theatre and the fantastic stage management crew keeping the production flowing.
Williams Creatives production of Matilda JR is a high-standard production filled with energy, youth, rebellion and joy and is sure to inspire both the audience and its cast with its uplifting spirit and catchy songs. It’s a memorable night of theatre all ages can enjoy and we can’t wait to see what this theatre group and phenomenal young cast do next!
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