Matilda Jr

I was delighted to attend Upstage Theatre Productions' first ever production and what a great choice Matilda Jr. was.  Seeing some familiar names on the Production Team, I am sure that this is a company that will continue to develop and give young people in Petersfield some incredible opportunities (none more so than their next production of Annie).  Having directed a production of Matilda Jr myself, I had high hopes and I was certainly not disappointed.  

Playing such a well-known titular character is always a challenge.  The responsibility to lead a production where you rarely leave the stage can be daunting for many youngsters but the talented Enola Todd delivered an assured performance with excellent stage presence.  Her delivery, diction and vocals enabled the audience to share her journey throughout.  
Enola was confidently supported by Bex Daniels as the kind and lovable Miss Honey, who develops a soft spot for Matilda and takes her under her wing.  Her experience shone through with a strong singing voice to match.  I look forward to seeing Bex continue her impressive performance skills in the future.  

A star turn from Callum Prideaux as the evil Agatha Trunchbull. His delivery was confident, funny and menacing as needed and he handled his tricky songs with ease. Callum has proved here what a versatile performer he is having previously seen him as Maui in Moana Jr and Charlie Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Both stark contrasts to Trunchbull!

We were also treated to a strong double act by Cerys Prideaux and Ava Boriani as Mr and Mrs Wormwood. A great example of team work. They were well supported by Kirin Moss as their son Michael – with less to say but equally good timing. A great family unit. I must also mention Jacob Holdstock here as Mrs Wormwood's flamboyant dance partner Rudolpho.  This is a tough role to play but he gave it everything and had some very impressive dance moves!

Another notable performance came from Imogen Reid, who was lovely as the encouraging Mrs Phelps the librarian, desperate to hear more of the story.  Brooke Wallis was brilliant as Lavender allowing her stage experience to shine through.  Jack Creighton made an excellent Nigel coming into his own in the scene under the blazers.  Carter Davies was excellent as Bruce Bogtrotter, a character who gets his moment to shine later in the musical and boy does Carter make the most of his opportunity.  His vocals at the start of Revolting Children (which is notoriously challenging) were delivered with power and accuracy. 

The Creative Team's decision to expand the Escapologist (Amelie Rees) and the Acrobat (Mela Gjolla) was inspired and gave more depth to this side of the story.  The choreography and acrobatics were very impressive.

While the leads in any production have their chance to shine, an Ensemble can often feel like they are less important to a production.  That certainly isn’t the case here!  It is evident that Sassy (Director), Louise (Musical Director) and Chris (Choreographer) have worked hard to ensure the every single child is involved, engaged and in character every time they enter the stage.  Some challenging choreography and harmonies were managed with confidence and style.  ‘When I Grow Up’ was particularly well done.  

A challenging script that jumps through many locations in a short space of time is never an easy task and Hannah Tranter and her crew deserve credit for navigating the large set items in such a way that it rarely detracted from the overall flow of the performance.  

Director Sassy Harvey is to be applauded for some excelling staging choices that added to the magic of the production. Particular highlights included Trunchbulls “hammer throw” of Amanda Thripp, the disappearing chocolate cake, the magical chalkboard and moving glass of water.

Costumes supported the production perfectly with the uniforms looking as you would expect. Mrs Wormwood's 80s inspired look with bright make up and wig worked really well too. Well done to the costume department.

Having recently been blown away by the work of Ian and Chris Pratt on another production, I was very much looking forward to seeing their lighting design and although a very different production, their attention to detail was excellent.  Sound is one of those areas that often only receives a comment if it is bad.  When well done, it is seamless and Tom Clark has done a great job here.

If this is the quality of Upstage’s inaugural production, I am excited to see how they develop and grow as a production company.  These performers are very lucky to have such a wonderful team around them that supports and champions them all the way.

As you can probably tell I enjoyed this production enormously and would like to thank everyone involved for a great evening’s entertainment

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