Matilda the Musical Jr

Report by Jules Jones East Midlands Councillor on behalf of District 6 Rep. Colin Blackler

Thank you to everyone front of house at Sue Townsend Theatre, for the very warm welcome I received when I came to visit you all for the very first time. Front of house – Abbie Stocker, Pete Singleton, Sarah Brown, and Emm Pearson. The welcome pack of a program, some popcorn treats, and a drinks voucher for the well-managed bar especially touched me. Very much appreciated after my 2 hour drive.

Synopsis - Rebellion is nigh in Matilda JR., a gleefully witty ode to the anarchy of childhood and the power of imagination! This story of a girl who dreams of a better life and the children she inspires will had the audience rooting for the "revolting children" who are out to teach the grown-ups a lesson. Matilda has astonishing wit, intelligence... and special powers! She's unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the highly loveable Miss Honey. Matilda's school life isn't completely smooth sailing, however – the school's mean headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, hates children and just loves thinking up new punishments for those who don't abide by her rules. But Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts and could be the school pupils' saving grace! The show was packed with high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs, Matilda JR. is a joyous girl power romp. A thrilling and delightful story of the special little girl with an extraordinary imagination. Book by Dennis Kelly, Music by Tim Minchin, and based on a story by Roald Dahl.

Staging – sitting in my seat in the full auditorium, I could see the aspects of the stage set which featured lettered blocks, a library and home area which wetted my appetite for the show. Throughout the show, I noted excellent lighting and good sound quality. Light Operation by James Ansell, Sound by Tom Brooks, Set Design by Ellie Barratt, Set by King Academy. A super creative setting for the actors to work in, and you also featured movable stage props that included Matilda’s bed, the school gates, office desk and cake trolley, which were all manipulated with speed and efficiency by the actors and backstage team. Every scene flowed into the next with the adeptness of a well-oiled machine.  (Stage Manager – Sharon Brown, DSM – Callum Taylor-Williams, Backstage -  Sue Kyprianou, Andrew Parkin, Maya Voce.) All excellent.

Costumes – Ariel Costume Hire, Andrea Bruen who was in charge of your wardrobe, enhanced the show with super costumes. I especially liked Miss Honey’s and Mr and Mrs Wormwood's outfits, but everyone looked amazing in all their uniforms. Mrs Trunchbull be-medalled coat and wig were excellent too.

The Show - From the very first moment, I enjoyed the high-energy dancing of all your actors, their diction and vocals were all excellent, right until the last moment, I could not see anyone put a foot wrong. You all looked like you were enjoying the moment, and you had the audience clapping and hooting after each musical number. The music (MD – Ellie Barrat), was very upbeat, the choreographer, Jacob Bale had created intricate moves and dances with huge energy, which everyone produced with very high skill and looked very well-rehearsed.  I appreciate that rehearsals must have been well run to produce such highly skilled dance moves. (Dance Captain – Emily Dryhurst.)

The ensemble hardly stopped moving, with each number, then quick changes of costume, then on again with a new character to portray. Scarlett Warren, Eleanor Wood, Emily Raynor, Matilda Singleton, Isabelle Wood, Isabelle Dingle-Hunt, Maisy Reynolds, Eden Humphreys, Rosa Clarke, Emily Brewin, Isabelle Riley, Isabelle Kirk, Emily Dryhurst, and Aria White were all enthusiastic, high energy and created delightful individual performances which enhanced the whole show. I particularly enjoyed the rambunctious children and the Italian Mobster characters.

Matilda played by Poppy Branston, was amazing. Her depth of characterisation was astonishing, her vocals and diction were perfect and she really connected with the audience as we cheered her on to rebellion. Her singing was particularly good during her solo moments, ‘Quiet’ and ‘When I Grow Up’ had me in tears. Miss Honey played by Millie Beech with sympathy and gentle tone to her voice came across very well, her solo ‘My House’ was lovely. Sienna Barnes was the ghastly Miss Trunchbull, her stomping about and acting choices, brought this character to life, and her interactions with all the other characters was very realistic. The Wormwoods, played by Isla Singleton and Ruben Bruen also gave stand-out performances, bringing their unsympathetic edge to the story line. Escapologist / Rudolpho – William Ham utilised comic timing very well and the audience loved his line, ‘I'm in the zone, doll. I can feel it in my hips. Don't waste this.’ He also demonstrated great gymnastic skill along with the acrobat – Ruby Foster, during their scenes. Ruby was a lovely performer to watch, super confident and portrayed her character really well. Mrs Phelps the librarian, was played by Hattie Moore, her gentle character who befriends Matilda was played confidently and we loved watching her enjoy Matilda’s stories.

Other named roles were - Lavender by Hollie Smith, Amanda by Holly-Rose Moore, Bruce by Jenson Weston, Nigel by Thomas Burton and Tommy and the Italian Boss Sergei by Oliver Stocker. All worked well on stage and gave energetic performances. The comedy of Austin Parker, with exacting timing, playing Michael was hilarious, and he also played Eric. Alice was played by Thea White, Hortensia by Florence Dann and the Cook by Zuha Abbas also brought vitality to the scenes.

The young people could not have performed on stage if it not for the chaperones, led by Kate Singleton. Thank you to Amy Smith, Andrea Bruen, Charlotte Moore, Tash Plummer, Elise Paigeandre, Marie-Claire Hynes, Andrea Moore, Alison Birchall, Ranata Maynard, Nichola Wood.

Your program was colourful and had many stunning photographs (Photography – Poyner & Mee Photography), including details of your company, a message from both your Chair – Josh Taylor-Williams and Director – Cathy Robinson. Sadly, you have not included the wording about NODA which can be found at  https://www.noda.org.uk/programme-and-poster-competition  so I can not enter it into our program competition 2025. Perhaps next time you might like to include it and join in the competition, as your program is of a very high standard.

Cathy, you have directed a masterpiece, as I said to you all, the best Matilda Jr I have seen, with such an amazing cast and crew with you on this journey, I know you must be very proud of the whole production. I am passionate about getting youngsters on stage and indeed, behind the scenes too. Your efforts will ensure the young people involved will have wonderful memories, a greater sense of confidence, new friendships, and a sense of achievement, which will last a lifetime. Well done. NODA are offering awards to productions in 2025, nominations will be listed early in 2026, I do not doubt your production should be nominated in the youth category. I spoke to lots of your audience after the show, with everyone saying how much they enjoyed the outstanding show. Enjoy every accolade, you deserve them.

Thank you for allowing me to meet the cast and crew after the show, it was delightful to see how much the show meant to you all. I hope you all celebrate in style. I cannot wait until your next production of Little Shop in October, if this production is anything to go by, it will be another tremendous success. 

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