Matilda The Musical Jr.

Matilda is one of those magical shows that everyone loves and in Johnstone we were treated to a fantastic production of the Junior version. With another lovely warm welcome from the front of house team on my third visit in the last two months to see a Johnstone phoenix show, we took our seats and were once again thoroughly entertained. Making use of an open set with excellent projections, the scenes flowed well with the use of furniture and props. There were some lovely special touches in the set, and I liked the use of the area with the swing where Mrs. Phelps played beautifully by Emma McCulloch used it as her library. Take a large number of young people, some new to theatre and some experienced, and what do you get? Well, what we got was an outstanding performance of this great story told through song, acting and dance. Grace Todd who played Matilda showed a great talent and her singing and acting were very strong in equal measure. She displayed strong characterisation in the role and her diction and accent were excellent - a great performer.  The role of her parents Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood and their son played by Kayden Weir, Olivia Regan and Jonathan Innes were all well done and each one of them maintained excellent accents and acting, bringing comedy to the performance. The story of the Escapologist and the Acrobat was beautifully executed, and Keira Hutchison’s dancing was excellent. Amelia McDonald was a gentle Miss Honey and sang and acted well. Kayden Weir was an excellent Miss Trunchbull, and he portrayed the character magnificently. The classroom characters all performed to a high standard and each one displayed their individual personalities. Matilda Jr. utilises performance backing tracks. However, the musical director still has a key role in teaching the music to the performers, and the singing was of an extremely high quality throughout the show from principals to the large ensemble numbers. Each of the performers in the opening “Miracle” coped well and the ensemble really shone in “When I Grow Up” and “Revolting Children”. Choreography was slick and precise and the direction and staging of the show flowed well. There were several very poignant moments in the drama where we experienced some excellent acting. This is a very versatile group of young people and the dedication and effort put in by them and the production team was very evident. I know that there was a lot of fun rehearsing this show, but also a lot of hard work. It’s safe to say that the future of Johnstone Phoenix is safe with such a talented group of young people just waiting for “When they Grow Up”.

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