Matilda the Musical Jr

Teesside Musical Theatre Youth Company’s latest outing was to the Arc, Stockton with their production of ‘Matilda the Musical Jr’ and boy, what a show it was!

Directed by Alison Dale, this young cast took the stage by storm from start to end with their vibrant energy, passion and sheer talent.

This show follows the tale of a young girl who is born into the Wormwood family. Not the nicest family by a long shot. Especially when her father calls her a boy all the time!

Taking on the title role of Matilda was Poppy Short, a young lady who held the audience in the palm of her hand for the whole show. Her singing was top notch and her excitement really shone through especially in the story telling scenes with Mrs Phelps (played with compassion by Gracie Horan).

Michael Reeve and Katie Shepherd took on the roles of Mr and Mrs Wormwood and were true to the characters throughout. Great chemistry between these two on stage alongside Patrick Cook-Smith as the, less than bright shall we say, older brother Michael. The family worked really well together.

Michael and Katie’s dancing was second to none in the dreamy dance sequence. Well done to you both.

Other notable performances from Daisy Sykes as Miss Honey, a soft and warm character portrayed really well. Edward Cook-Smith as the terrifying Miss Truchbull had great stage presence and commanded it every time he was on. Excellent use of characterisation going between mean and pretend nicey nicey as I call it. Alfie Russell as Bruce has a great little voice coming through as has good comedic timing.  

All of the people on stage had their own unique caracters and no two were the same which from an audience perspective is great to see. It means the audience are kept on their toes throughout the show.

A great production team led by Director Alison Dale, aided by Sally Emmerson, Jason Mitchell as Musical Director aided by Viv Winterschladen as Chorus Mistress along with Hannah Smith as Choreographer aided by Dance Captain Katie Shepherd.

Great yet simple set and props. I particularly liked how you stayed true to the show and had real swings on stage for the ‘When I Grow Up’ number. All was aided by good lighting and sound design and operation.

Well done to you all on a great night at the Theatre. If you missed it, you definitely missed out!

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