Matilda The Musical - Theatre Review

Matilda The Musical - Theatre Review

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Posted 2015-08-24 by Postcards from Shaynefollow

Tue 28 Jul 2015 - Mon 29 Feb 2016

After successful seasons in London and New York, Matilda the Musical opened in Sydney this week, to rave reviews.



Based on a book by Roald Dahl, it is the story of a brilliant little girl who has the misfortune of being born to no-good parents who treat her as a pest and a nuisance. She takes refuge in a world of books and creating her own stories. She finds an ally in her kindergarten teacher, Miss Honey and together they must stand up to the school bully, the wicked headmistress Miss Trunchbull.

The musical by The Royal Shakespeare Company is written by Dennis Kelly, with the music and lyrics by Australian comedian Tim Minchin.

Any 8 or 9 year old will be able to tell you the story of Matilda, and my own 9 year old is capable of reading the book and watching the movie ad infinitum. If you don't have a 9 year old on hand, try to borrow one for the day, as you will both enjoy Matilda the Musical.

Here is what we loved about the show.

The Live Theatre Experience - this show is spectacular, full of humour and is a whole lot of fun! It is energetic with clever songs, great dancing and an excellent cast. The sets are fantastic and it has a contemporary feel and contemporary message. Sydney Lyric felt intimate even from Row R and we didn't have any problems seeing or hearing the performance. We were welcomed warmly by the staff in the foyer and in the theatre and I loved that I could access the Candy Bar inside the theatre at intermission without having to go back out to the foyer.



The Characters - it is impossible to choose a favourite character as they are all played wonderfully in this production. However I would like to give special mention to the following:

Mr & Mrs Wormwood, played by Daniel Frederiksen and Marika Aubrey, are fabulously self absorbed characters and these roles are played with a great deal of humour. Mr Wormwood is a dodgy used car salesman and Mrs Wormwood has replaced her bingo (from the book) with ballroom dancing. Her performance in the song "Loud" is one of the highlights of the show.

Miss Trunchbull, played by James Millar, somehow manages to be both wickedly funny and wickedly cruel in the role of the sadistic headmistress, and gives one of the standout performances of the show.

As you'd expect the star of the show is Matilda, played by four young actors, but in our show played by Georgia Taplin. The character is one that never gives up hope despite her misfortunes. She always stands up for herself and for others. I don't know how these young actors manage to remember all of their lines and all of the super fast-paced lyrics of the songs. They really are amazing talents and Georgia received a well-deserved standing ovation.

Mrs Phelps - is the librarian who lends a sympathetic ear to Matilda and who shows interest in her fabulous stories. I loved the inclusion of this colourful character, played by Cle Morgan.

Music, Singing and Dancing - The first song of the show "Miracle" sets the tone with its humour and cheeky satirical lyrics. One verse struck me as particularly relevant:
%%
One can hardly move for beauty and brilliance these days.
It seems that there are millions of these one-in-a-millions these days.
Special-ness seems de rigueur.
Above average is average - go figure.
Is it some modern miracle of calculus,
That such frequent miracles don't render each one un-miraculous?%%

The songs are often fast paced and unsentimental which mirrors both the writing of Dahl and the character of Matilda. She doesn't feel sorry for herself. Matilda knows that it is up to her to change her circumstances as is explained in the song "Naughty":

%%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,
You might as well be saying you think that it's OK.
And that's not right.
And if it's not right, you have to put it right.%%

Tim Minchin has done an amazing job of reproducing the sentiments of Dahl's book in to witty lyrics and energetic music. The choreography is contemporary and the dancing of the children is also fabulous.



The sets - From the moment we took our seats in the Sydney Lyric we were delighted by the towering set of scrabble like tile letters arranged randomly (and some not so randomly - see how many words you can find before the show starts) across the stage. I thought the sets were fabulous, from the library to the school room and school yard with the slide and giant swings. There are also some great special effects such as the chalk writing by itself on the chalkboard and the use of shadow puppets in Matilda's story of the Acrobat and the Escapologist.

Enjoying the theatre like a child - To watch this show is pure enjoyment. It is witty and funny and heart-warming at the same time and appeals to both children and adults alike. In fact at our show I think the adults were laughing harder than the children.

The show runs for 2 hours and 40 minutes which includes a 20 minute interval. But don't stay outside at interval for too long as you may miss Mr Wormwood's fabulous show disclaimer at the beginning of Act 2 and his cheeky song about the pinnacle of man's success "Telly".



Matilda the Musical is showing at the Sydney Lyric at The Star and is expected to run until February 2016. For ticket information please click here.

Even those of us (myself included) who are not big fans of a musical will enjoy this show. And you might be surprised to find that you even want to see it again!

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!date 28/07/2015 -- 29/02/2016
%wnsydney
188114 - 2023-06-16 03:06:55

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