Matilda the Musical Jr.

This was a super show delivered by an enthusiastic and talented young cast which was worthy of its sell-out audiences.  The director and choreographer Lee Brannigan and musical director Claire Garbutt along with the support of Mel King and Scott Brannigan-Howes had clearly supported the 40 young people with lots of hard work to achieve great performances.

The scene of a birthday party and “Matilda” spelled out in large hanging letters welcomed us perfectly setting the scene. Throughout the set consisted of a collection of hanging letters and good props including desks, a blackboard, stacked library books, a vaulting gym horse and even three practical swings all swiftly moved by support crew as well as the cast. The lighting supported changes of mood and atmosphere and the sound was good and clear. All of the little “tricks” needed for the show worked well. The choreography was slick and really good to watch, lots of interesting change overs from the younger to older members of the cast and the children had mastered it and delivered it with passion, my favourite was “When I Grow Up” complete with swings and scooters. All of the music was confidently sung and Claire did well to keep the voices all together especially when there was a lot of action on stage.

The Wormwood family are unusual to say the least and were perfectly played by Dan Burlison as Mr Wormwood and Darcy Ranasinghe as Mrs Wormwood, great characterisation, comic timing and accents from this talented two, Dan’s front of curtain scene showed his confidence in working an audience. Matilda’s brother played by Demi Bartle, even though mostly silent still managed to raise a laugh and the antics of Freddie Scott as Rudolpho Mrs Wormwood’s dance teacher had the audience laughing out loud. Ellen Ledgerwood as Miss Honey had a beautiful voice and gave us a caring and nurturing character the perfect contrast to the loud, scary and imposing Agatha Trunchbull perfectly played by Oscar Petre. Both performers played their characters with maturity beyond their young years. I really enjoyed Matilda’s storytelling to Ellie Choake as Mrs Phelps, of the Escapologist and the Gymnast which was beautifully acted out by Georgos Marnellos and Grace Reed. Matilda’s eight school friends, the cook and mechanic all played their roles very well and the ensemble were excellent, the energy was tangible. In the title role of Matilda, Rana Ozbec shone, her diction was good, her solos were lovely and she performed with great confidence.

Congratulations to the Society for supporting these young people to have such a great theatrical experience, the capacity audience were swelling with pride as they watched their young people shine. Congratulations to Lee, Claire, Mel and Scott, it takes a lot of hard work to support a youth cast of this size and to such a high standard.

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