Matilda Jr

Being a big fan of both the film and the musical, it always baffles me how much of the story is cut out in the abridged version that is Matilda Junior. If this isn’t cleverly done, both from a directorial perspective and from performers bringing the characters to life, then it is very easy for large portions of plot to be lost when staging this production. However, there was not a single moment I found myself lost or wanting for more during Cygnets production of Matilda Jr. The choice to use Paradise Mill for this production is one I must commend. This space is the home of Cygnets, used for rehearsals, workshops and performances, and the work that has gone into it is outstanding. It can be daunting even for adult performers during that move from rehearsal venue into performance space during show week, something which is completely cut out for Cygnets, allowing their young performers to be completely comfortable in their surroundings – something which was very clear during the show. Made up of a cast ranging from age 7 to 12, this was one of the youngest groups I have ever seen perform and I must say I was extremely impressed with the raw talent, confidence and passion exhibited on stage.

Strong casting for the principal roles is integral for a show like Matilda Jr, especially the leading part of Matilda. This is a massive role for a young performer to take on, and Eadie Sparling Hudson did so beautifully. Every note was pitch perfect with such clear diction. Eadie was a believable Matilda with a wide range of emotions portrayed perfectly for the scenes and relationships throughout the story. These acting skills could give a lot of adults a run for their money. Even during the school classroom scenes when the focus was on the other children, Eadie was still completely in character with brilliant reactions to the scenes happening around her. She certainly would not be out of place playing this part in a professional production – a truly stunning performance!

An equally commendable performance was given by Niamh Vanaudenaerde as Miss Trunchbull. She found the perfect balance between acting appallingly towards other characters and having the audience in stitches from spot on comedy timing – especially during the encore! I noticed that Niamh did not have a mic for the show and she was completely able to hold her own within the space, every word was clear and well projected during dialogue. I do feel, however, Niamh could have done with a mic for ‘The Smell of Rebellion’ as she was slightly drowned out during the ensemble sections. But nonetheless this was still a fantastic performance with amazing characterisation and physicality.

From what I could tell, there were only around 4 head mics used for the show (I could be wrong) but they were utilised well by giving them to Miss Honey and Matilda due to their softer spoken lines and songs, and also to Mr and Mrs Wormwood who benefitted from the extra support during their dialogue. These were all well balanced and cued for the majority of the production. Along side the few head mics, there were 4 static mics along the front of the stage. A large amount of the blocking had taken this into account for solo lines within songs. It did feel at times like it was more of a concert performance with the cast coming forward to the mics in small groups for their sections of the songs, but this didn’t affect the overall production value, and it did work well for the space.

Paradise Mill presents as more of a “studio” type space for performances, with the stage being ground level and the front row of the audience almost being part of the action. That being said, the staging of this show was great within that space. It had a stripped back feel with the only static set being a small living room and a library, along with painted flats acting as wings. All other set was brought on to represent the scenes; dressing tables, a desk, a chair here and there. This was all very minimal which made for very slick scene changes, never overrunning the underscore in place. What was mostly used for setting scenes was a small screen on the back wall with projections. This caused a lot of issues throughout the whole production which were very distracting – there were many instances where the PowerPoint being used was reset to the beginning and then we had to see every location again to get back to the correct one. In my opinion, this was not needed for the most part and ended up being overly complicated. It would have been more effective to have just used this for the classroom scenes where the words magically appear on the board. Due to the technical issues, we never got to experience that. The cast did brilliantly to just carry on despite the hiccups. They also worked well with a few timings issues with sound effects, not breaking character while waiting for them to be cued in. Aside from the odd timing issue, the sound effects were great – appropriate for the show and really added to the comedy in parts.

There wasn’t a lot in terms of lighting in this production, however this was just what was needed. With a simple set in the space used, a complicated lighting plot would have looked out of place. The cast were always well lit with all cues being spot on. Another aspect of the production which worked well for Paradise Mill was the use of tracks as opposed to a live band. In a smaller theatre space, a live band would have absolutely drowned out the cast, and the sound quality of the tracks was brilliant. Again, a couple of wobbles on timing in the music, however this could have been due to the dialogue leading in being performed slightly faster than anticipated. The wall of sound that a small cast of such young performers created was incredible. During the larger ensemble numbers, they really put their all into their vocals and this was one of strongest elements of the show. I am particularly impressed with how good the casts diction was in these numbers are some of them are very wordy. We could understand every word being sung and it sounded great. Musical Director, Eliza Dawson, has obviously worked hard with the cast to produce these vocals.

Jaxx Bristow choreographed the show and the vision was clear. Some brilliant moments were brought to us, especially in ‘Revolting Children’, where the energy of the dance and song came together to create really impactful moments. I feel some of the performance of the choreography could have been more polished, but the slight imperfections did add to the fact that they were rebelling school children so, from a visual perspective, worked quite well. Jaxx also took on the role of Assistant Director for the production, alongside Director Kalini Kent. They have obviously put in a lot of hard work to bring this show to life, and really worked with the cast on creating their own characters and how they should project their voices especially. The blocking of each scene cannot be faulted, especially the scenes with Amanda Thripp and the cake. These were both very well executed.

The named children throughout the show all performed their parts really well, each with clear purpose and their own little personalities, some shy, some cheeky. This came through in their performances, and they all did a great job. The idea to have the smallest cast members as the Russians was genius and absolutely hilarious. They all brought sass to their roles and had the audience howling. During the classroom scenes, there were several moments throughout the show when some of the cast broke their characters and were laughing to each other and trying to communicate with people off stage, something which was quite distracting. This was especially noticeable during Matilda’s song ‘Quiet’. However, on the whole, they did give great performances when they had their opportunities to sing and dance.

Alice Parkinson was another great casting choice in the role of Miss Honey. She had such soft expressions and mannerisms, and even kind eyes, that really made the personality of Miss Honey come to life. Her vocals were beautiful throughout and she really managed to play the nurturing teacher for every second. Every interaction she had with Matilda was lovely.

On the other end of the spectrum are Mr and Mrs Wormwood, who don’t have an ounce of love or fondness for their daughter, Matilda. Lucy Bird and Abi Hogben took on these roles, and they brought the perfect balance of humour and hatred to the roles. The pair played off each other really well. Some of the lines were lost in their scenes due to them being spoken too fast, but this was still a great job from the young actors. I especially loved Mrs Wormwood’s costumes – no detail or accessory was forgotten! Also appearing in the Wormwood family scenes were Matilda’s brother, Michael (played by Abigail Cartledge) and Mrs Wormwood’s dance partner, Rodolpho (played by Ruby Worsley). Both Abigail and Ruby were the epitome of the saying “There are no small parts, only small actors”. Despite having very few lines between them, each time they delivered them it was spot on and the comedy timing was perfect!

I found this to be a really enjoyable production and I’m so glad that the cast were able to tell the story even with sections missing which could easily lead to the audience being lost or confused. Despite some technical issues, the children did a great job and, most importantly, they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Cygnets have a really strong community feel that comes with their group, offering not just performances but also workshops and ‘show in a week’ experiences. Many thanks go to Cygnets for their invite and their hospitality, and I wish them the best of luck for their upcoming production of Grease, to be performed at The King’s School, Macclesfield from 2nd – 4th April by the older members of their youth company.

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