Matilda Jr

Kingsley Players Youth Theatre are celebrating their 10th year, and what better way than to stage their very first musical, choosing arguably one of the most iconic junior shows out there. Under the direction of Jake Powell, the cast performed extremely well. They were consistently in character and performed everything with a strong purpose, as well as being entirely responsible for moving the set! This was done in a very professional manner by the young actors. Matilda contains some iconic scenes, such as the writing on the chalkboard and the throwing of Amanda Thripp. Both of these were executed well, with the additional detail of chalk sound effects for the writing on the board. Jake has managed to implement his own, fresh ideas as well which really landed with the audience. The prime example being the Wormwood house having a Ring doorbell, and the video of Mrs Wormwood answering the bell ring projected on to the back wall. I also particularly enjoyed the use of scooters and a parachute for “When I Grow Up” – these really added to the nostalgia of the number.

Joining Jake on the production team was Jen Deakin as choreographer. While some numbers were more slick and polished than others, the choreography was well thought out to suit the ability of the cast. The energy throughout was high and the choreography was really snappy in all the right places. The standout numbers were “School Song” performed with precision and control, and “Bruce” which just conveyed joy in every aspect. I must give a special mention to the letters created by two members of the cast throughout “School Song”. This was a brilliant idea perfectly executed. It would have been beneficial to place them slightly more central or further back as some of the audience on one side struggled to see them due to the placement, but all in all it was a great addition to the production.

Rounding out the production team was Chloe Rigby as musical director. From the sound that the cast were able to create, I can tell a lot of hard work had gone in to the vocals for this show. The clarity of the vocals was excellent and I was impressed by the harmonies produced from such a young cast!

In terms of set, the only items used were blocks with letters on 4 sides. These were arranged to spell out “bed”, “library” and “sofa” among other things. This was a brilliant idea, and paid homage to the original professional production that featured letters heavily within the set. The attention to detail here was incredible, even down to the Acrobat and Escapologist standing on “a” and “e”. The scene changes with the blocks were entirely executed by the cast, and they did a sterling job in ensuring everything was placed and spelled correctly. There were a couple of occasions where the sound of the blocks being moved did slightly overpower dialogue, but they were only for short periods of time. Also used to set the scenes were projections on to the back wall, showing railings for the school, wallpaper in the Wormwood house, and other settings. The lighting was slightly too bright for these to be seen at times but they worked well with the simplicity of the set. I did like the acrobat poster changing to “cancelled” – this was timed perfectly! I also found the opening of the double doors at the back of the stage for various reveals throughout the show to be highly effective.

Along the back of the stage were multiple light strips which flooded the back wall with colour – I thought this was a really nice touch, especially during “Revolting Children” when happiness took over and so did colour. Costuming throughout was appropriate for the themes and the characters, the school uniforms weren’t the same amongst the cast, something which I liked as it added some more interesting visual aspects during the show. I must give a mention to the bowl attached to Mrs Wormwood’s costume – hilarious!

The cast were able to project well for their dialogue as microphones were only switched on when music came into play. These were timed well for the most part. Also well timed were the various sound effects used throughout. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the music tracks. There were several timing issues with the tracks where cast were seemingly waiting for their music to start. There was also an issue with the start of “When I Grow Up” when the track was stopped and re-started, even though Tilly (Bruce) had successfully picked up the place in the music. I would have liked there to be more use of music for underscoring the scene changes as these were often done in silence, I feel like it would have helped the show flow a bit better.

In the title role of Matilda was Bethia Horton who displayed consistently strong vocals. I would have liked to see a bit more of the cheeky/defiant side to the character, but that is more of a personal preference. Bethia performed with high levels of confidence and professionalism, maintaining clear diction and character choices throughout. Taking on Agatha Trunchbull was Barnaby Bradburne. Barnaby was completely committed to the role, giving us evil vibes in all the right places. Good vocals were exhibited by Barnaby, especially during “Smell of Rebellion”, although the ensemble vocals did slightly overpower the lead vocals in this number. Some lines were a little lost due to being spoken too fast, but I commend the full commitment to the role and it was a highly entertaining performance.

Teigan Withey performed beautifully in the role of Miss Honey. The emotion she was able to portray through both dialogue and song was impressive, along with stunning vocals! Almost every note was pitch perfect. Her scared expressions around Trunchbull were great and very believable. Tilly Tucker did a great job in the role of Bruce, giving high energy along with brilliant facial expressions and vocals. As did James Walker in the role of Nigel – some of his reactions were hilarious and so well timed!

Joseph Tomlinson played a larger-than-life version of Mr Wormwood with eccentric costumes and gestures. This brought out the comedic element of the character, and his timing and delivery of the funnier lines was spot on. Stealing the show for me was Scarlett Robinson as Mrs Wormwood. Her accent was brilliant and she had the audience in stitches with every word. She remained completely in character and showcased a real flair for comedy. An excellent performance from Scarlett – well done!

The whole cast and production team have done a brilliant job in bringing this story to life in their own way, with effective set and some excellent choices made throughout. They mostly displayed high energy and were able to consistently remain in character, all while having to navigate not just their own roles but also the responsibility of set changes. And, most importantly, every single young actor appeared to be truly enjoying their time on stage. The standout number of the show for me was “Bruce” which was brilliantly performed by the whole cast with amazing harmonies, great choreography and true “party vibes” lighting.

Thank you to KPYT for their invite to the show, and I wish them the best of luck with their future productions.

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