Matilda Jnr The Musical

This young cast provided a fabulous evening’s entertainment and definitely deserved its sell-out audiences.  With Direction and Choreography by Chris Colebrooke, Musical Direction by Zena Bentley and Choreography by Amber Newton this was a show packed with energy, enthusiasm and talent.  From the opening number there was a real buzz in the auditorium because it was clear that we were in for a treat.

The musical of Matilda is adapted from the story by Roald Dahl who has an amazing ability for creating characters which the younger members of Whitby Area Musical Theatre Company brought to life.  Regardless of the size of their role every member of the cast embodied their character from the moment they stepped on stage.  The opening number ‘Miracle’ set the scene and introduced us to the idea that whilst some children are loved and supported by their parents, others like the title role Matilda, struggle with parents who ignore and fail to recognise their talents. 

The Wormwood family was hilariously horrible and well played by Thomas Newton (Mr Wormwood) and Rosie Young (Mrs Wormwood).  There were many laughs directed at Joey Hesleton who played Matilda’s brother Michael who had excellent timing with the delivery of his lines.   Liam Hutchinson and Neve Eddon worked very well together as the Escapologist and Acrobat respectively.  There were some very demanding gymnastic moves performed by Neve.  Lily Burton was endearing as librarian Mrs Phelps who was clearly a genuine friend to Matilda.

Matilda’s school friends, along with the ensemble and smaller roles, delivered their lines and routines to ensure this production was well paced and thoroughly entertaining.  The high energy of ‘Revolting Children’ ensured that the production ended on an exceptionally high note.    

Charlotte Crossland presented a lovely interpretation of Miss Honey, the nervous school-teacher who develops a strong relationship with Matilda and her song ‘This Little Girl’ was beautiful.   Joleigh Davidson was perfect as the horrid Trunchbull.  Joleigh is clearly a confident performer who gave us all a devastatingly wicked representation of the horrid schoolteacher and maintained the shocking demeanour all the way through.   The ‘Smell of Rebellion’ was a fabulous number and little boy near me gave an audible gasp of horror when Joleigh swung the model around by its hair.  The title role of Matilda was played by Safi Swales – she had clear diction, great facial expressions and made Matilda very believable – and possibly a ‘little bit naughty’.

The choreography was super with a fast pace and sharp steps and well performed by the cast who were all aged under 18.  The most important element of a Youth Production is whether the young people on stage enjoy the experience and this cast clearly did as they all seemed to be having a great time demonstrating their confidence and talent.

The stage crew worked hard and the show had strong sound and light to support the production.  There were super costumes, great projections and clever special effects to create the writing on the blackboard. 

Congratulations to the Cast, Crew and Production Team who had clearly all worked really hard to give a brilliant, entertaining and very enjoyable production.

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