By Sally Churchward.
There was so much to love about Matilda the Musical at the Mayflower Theatre last night, it’s hard to know where to start.
So perhaps I’ll begin with the end. The curtain call was met with a much-deserved standing ovation, for the show as a whole and especially for Madison Davis, who was helming in an outstanding performance as the titular Matilda.
Having not seen the musical before, I had realised, obviously, that children would feature heavily in the cast, but I hadn’t realised quite how much in the limelight they would be. It must be an arduous task finding such a talented group of youngsters to play the principle children’s roles, with four young performers taking each of the roles on in rotation, and for some numbers, being alone on stage.
Davis was outstanding as our young heroine, easy for children to identify with and tugging at the heartstring for adults, met with a moving portrayal of a child desperate for love.
Matilda tells the tale of an unwanted child who, as a sensitive book reader, is a misfit in her crooked, cruel and television-obsessed family.
She starts school to find the best and worst of humanity there – the loving and gentle class teacher Miss Honey (Tessa Kadler) and the monstrous bully, headmistress Miss Trunchbull (Richard Hurst).
Unsurprisingly, given that the musical is adapted from the Roald Dahl novel, the show has a strong narrative structure. The musical expertly combines storytelling with delightful set pieces, such as a young students appearing to be thrown like a hammer by her pigtails, joyful dance routines and brilliant songs and music, courtesy of musical satirist Tim Minchin, who was in attendance at last night’s performance.
And all of this with wit and a heart of gold.
The cast were all perfect. Special mention has already been given to Madison Davis, who plays the title role in rotation with Molllie Hutton, Olivia Ironmonger and Sanna Kurihara.
Other stand out performances amongst the youngsters were Dottie James as the energetic and cheeky Lavender, and Brodie Robson shone as Bruce, a role he shares with Oisin-Luca Pegg, Carter-J Murphy and Takunda Khumalo.
Richard Hurst was hilarious and horrifying as Miss Trunchbull, especially in the cabaret-esque number, The Smell of Rebellion, and watching Matilda and friends stand up to her was delightful, from the ‘I am Spartacus’-like spelling test error rebellion to Matilda’s use of magic.
Another spot on comedy performance came from Ryan Lay as Rudolpho, Mrs Wormwood’s vain dance partner, and the extended dance sequence was one of many highlights.
Special mention must also be given to the excellent set and lighting designs, with towering bookshelves, swings that propelled the cast beyond the stage, and laser-type lights that turned the auditorium into part of the set.
The whole show was high energy joy, from the first number, through the hilarious post-interval song about how awful books are and the of TV to the cast shooting round the stage on scooters for the curtain call.
Matilda the Musical runs at Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre for more than two weeks – until May 17th – which is just as well, as based on last night’s performance, much of the audience will want to make a second visit.
PS: no ears, pigtails or newts were hurt in the production!
Tickets for Matilda the Musical are on sale at mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.
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