Matilda Jr. The Musical

Matilda Jr. has been adapted from the Tony Award winning musical Matilda especially for youth theatre groups and I’m sure many of the themes it contains must be dear to FMS Youth Theatre's cast’s hearts: rebellion against uncaring and cruel adults, standing up to bullying and gaining a sense of belonging. It also emphasises the pleasure that can be gained from reading and how it can stimulate young imaginations.

Director Artemis Zaharaki and Choreographer Alessandra Bushnell must have had a monumental task on their hands rehearsing such a huge cast, but what a result!

Everyone threw themselves into it, playing their parts with great gusto. The singing and movement in the big numbers were a triumph, and I particularly enjoyed “When I Grow Up” and “Revolting Children”. But beware of speaking your words too quickly – it can be hard for the audience to hear them clearly, especially when there is music playing underneath.

Key to the whole show is of course Matilda, played with great style by understudy Enola Jeffrey in the matinee performance that I attended. Her confident acting and singing completely charmed the audience. My colleague Kay, who saw an earlier performance with Emily Fox playing Matilda, said that Emily played the role of Matilda with great assurance.  She maintained her cool dignified persona throughout. Well done to both of you. It is a big role to take on, but you both really smashed it.

Arthur Westmoreland, Joy Stephenson and Harvey King made a wonderfully awful family that anyone would want to escape from. Autumn Fox and Adriana Sommers contrasted well as the lovely Miss Honey and the awful Agatha Trunchbull. Emmie Hughes and Jayden Speer as the acrobat and the escapologist brought Matilda’s stories to life beautifully on the platform at the back, and Lottie Gates was splendidly bouncy and ‘in your face’ as Lavender! Lucas Chamberlain was so charismatic as Bruce Bogtrotter – we really felt his agony as he tried to eat the entire cake! Please don’t be offended if I didn’t mention you – you were all fantastic, and best of all, you all looked like you were really enjoying yourselves. That comes across clearly to the audience and makes us enjoy the show even more.

Sensibly, a very minimal set was used – just a platform at the back – with furniture and props brought on by the efficient stage crew, as required. The short scenes and need for frequent changes disrupted the flow of the show a little, but were inevitable given the size of the stage and didn’t detract at all from our enjoyment. Costumes were all just right, and the lettered t-shirts were a nice touch. Simple but effective lighting completed the picture.

One of the rewarding things about going to see youth theatre regularly is that the cast is always changing with new up-and-coming stars emerging all the time. This is even more evident after the Covid-enforced two-year break in performances, but I’m delighted to report that there is no shortage of potential stars in this group and the whole cast put their hearts and souls into this performance. Well done everyone.

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