Where: Cambridge
Theatre
Why: A belated
birthday present from my flatmate.
Matilda the Musical was so good it made me want to cry. Just in
general, because I was so happy to be seeing it with my eyes. Even if I had
hated my flatmate before (which I didn’t, because she’s my best friend, but
let’s imagine), I would have loved her eternally just for providing me with the
golden ticket to access the wonder that was Matilda the Musical. In a similar
vein, I had formerly declined to be any kind of fan of Tim Minchin, and I’m
still not a lover of his own shows, but I will forgive him anything for the
songs he created for Matilda. Even just for the swing song, actually (‘When I
grow up’).
The reason the show was able to be
beautiful and touching without overdoing the saccharine factor was that it kept
Roald Dahl’s dark and twisty spirit in there too. The casual tormenting of
Matilda by her rotten parents was far more unpleasant than the film version,
and truer to the book. I wasn’t sure about the necessity of introducing Mrs Wormwood’s
flamenco dance partner to the story, as he doesn’t really add anything at all,
other than comically bendy legs. Another tangent away from the book involved
Matilda narrating the dramatic story of two lovers – an escapologist and an
acrobat – to Mrs Phelps, the enraptured librarian. Fairly early on the
parallels between this story and the Miss Honey/Trunchbull saga became clear,
and it all fits together when Matilda visits Miss Honey’s little house and
realises she has been telling her story all along.
Although at first this seemed like
a pretty elaborate way of revealing the teacher’s difficult situation and
family background, I think ultimately it did serve to make a wider point within
the show itself – that of the importance and power of stories in any little
life. Because she somehow knows this story, Matilda’s greatest brainy power
comes across as an insight and empathy on a more than adult level (which she
clearly didn’t learn from her parents), rather than the supernatural eye power
so over-used in the film version. This power was downplayed on the stage,
serving only to find a way to help Miss Honey escape the Trunchbull in the
final classroom scenes, and then never really coming up again. Matilda’s wisdom
and steadfast self-confidence is the central anchor of the plot throughout the
musical and, as we see in the lyrics of ‘Naughty’, provides an important and
engaging message to everyone in the audience, not just to children:
 |
| The fabulous stage. |
Just because you find that life’s
not fair it
doesn’t mean that you just have to
grin and bear it
if you always take it on the chin
and wear it
nothing will change.
As well as the genuinely brilliant
performances from all the kids, and Matilda in particular (we saw Eleanor
Worthington Cox, one of four girls who alternate in the role), credit has to go
to the fantastically creative staging to create the perfect environment for the
show. School desks rose from the floor and letter blocks were used in most
scenes (most effectively in the ‘School Song’ where each letter of the alphabet
was added to the gates in time with the song, total genius), and Matilda’s
bedroom with a small shelf for her to perch on was just right. I also loved the
blocks of letters scattered all around the stage front, prompting you to search
for words amongst them (I’m twenty-five and it kept me entertained for the
entire interval… maybe that’s just because I’m easily pleased).
Some highlights included:
- Trunchbull’s ribbon dancing and the laser Chokey
(bringing vicious mass-punishment into the twenty-first century)
- Bruce Bogtrotter’s cake triumph (I’ve got a lot
of love for Bogtrotter in this performance, it’s a great role)
- Matilda embracing Miss Honey with the biggest
hug in the world
- Michael Wormwood’s vital role in the song “All
that I know I learned from telly”
- Matilda chatting with the Russian mafia in their
native language
In the middle of writing this, I
completely distracted myself by listening to the soundtrack on YouTube for
about an hour and a half. The songs are all just so cool – personal favourites
include ‘When I grow up’, as mentioned earlier, as well as ‘Naughty’, ‘The
School Song’ and ‘Revolting Children’, but it’s all good. Have a listen, go on.
As I’m sure you’ve worked out, I cannot recommend this production highly enough. It has been selling out but my flatmate managed to get our tickets a few days before (in the front row of the upper circle, a great view) – and I’d watch it hanging by my pigtails from the ceiling if I had to.
10 out of 10. For reals.
Brixpig x
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