I have to admit to having felt a little like a young child again in anticipation of this renowned and popular musical based on the famous story by Roald Dahl. It is difficult to believe that this musical has been around for the past 8 years, and I had never seen it before, but did know two of the songs from the show, as they have been made popular in their own right as stand-alone songs for theatre / dance school showcases. I also was very interested in hearing more of Mr Tim Minchin's music. This is a modern Musical theatre phenomenon, and I wanted a small part of it!
Therefore, when presented with the fact that a technical problem with the machinery allowing parts of the set to run smoothly on and off stage was making the show run about 20 minutes late, I was not overly bothered; especially when a young man (part of the RSC company) stood on stage and explained in clear layman's terms what the issue was, and apologised for the delay. I simply felt sorry for all the youngsters in the audience and behind the stage waiting to go on.
I knew the story-line (don't ask me how I knew it, I don't know myself) I have never read the book nor seen the film; and so what was unfolding before me was just about as new as it was ever going to be. Dahl was a brilliant writer, and his vivid characterisations of people old and young, accentuating character traits and putting his unique spin on the world around him (us), is second to none. I was therefore a little confused this evening by the style of this show. Realism seemed to have been thrown out of the window completely in favour of a dizzying and jazzy set design, Tim Burton-esque directorial ideas, influences drawn from The St. Trinian's films, and on the whole a cast that relied far more on caricature than character. The silly, fun, chaotic, child-like side of Dahl was captured perfectly - but that isn't all that Dahl is.
Basically, Matilda tells the story of a 5 year old girl who is quite exceptionally gifted. She can read adult literature, and converse on adult terms about most things. This however does not make her precocious, but endearing and precious. Unfortunately however her parents don't seem to think so. Both of them, as well as her elder. layabout brother, seem to find her annoying, useless, and a brat. The same goes for the headmistress of the school she is sent to, Miss Trunchbull (played this evening in drag, by Craig Els, owning every movement and perhaps the nearest incarnation on stage to Dahl's original concept - a great performance!). Indeed, all children are evil, nasty and ugly imps to be beaten, punished and humiliated in her view. Matilda has a dream which she turns into a story about a pair of circus performers, a young child born from disaster and an evil aunt. The kindly school teacher Miss Honey (Carly Thoms) is the only person to see any worth in Matilda and is kindly and friendly towards her. And just in case you don't already know the story, I am stopping here......!
All the cast are strong and talented performers, that much is clear. I didn't feel the mono-dimensionality of it all worked particularly well though. Mr. Worwood (Sebastian Torkia) was a fine comedian / joker / spiv, but precious little was made of either his malevolent or his tender sides, of which he has both, for example. Of course though, it is the children in the show which truly make this musical. A large group of talented youngsters take these roles on a rotation system, with the leading role of Matilda herself being played by 4 different girls throughout the run. This evening it was Sophia Ally who captivated the audience with her prodigious talent, and all the children this evening were sensational. If only schools in reality were able to discipline their classes that way, ha ha!!
This was a hugely polished and slick production. The lighting design (Hugh Vanstone) was interesting and visually stimulating, but while it was undoubtedly creative, it only really worked if seated above the stage, and so all those sitting in the stalls would have missed a large proportion of Vanstone's design. Highly stylised choreography by Jeroen Luiten was very much in keeping with the overall 'feel' of the show and was executed with split-second timing. Matthew Warchus has obviously had loads of fun with directing this musical, and his creations were clever, frivolous and precise. He did seem somewhat afraid though of embracing the darker side of Dahl's vision. No-one was truly scared of anyone on stage, we just found them comedic, with Chokey being more of a jokey, and the moody lighting and sound was not enough to make us afraid - the letter-block set was still there and the element of 'fun' and 'adventure' never really truly brought to bear in a way that say, The Famous Five stories did. I really loved the use of alphabet blocks at the gates of the school though.
Act 2 is definitely the stronger of the two halves, (despite a rather odd start which basically breaks theatrical convention and starts more like a stand-up comedy routine talking directly to the audience!), and some of the special effects used within the production are indeed extremely clever and 'magical', but running at 2 hours 40 minutes, it is somewhat long for what is basically a children's show. This musical already has a huge following from youngsters who have either already read the book or seen the film, and long may this continue... we need the young in our theatres!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 20/9/18
PS. I have to say that I have found this one of the most difficult reviews to write ever, as I seem to be at odds with more or less everyone else's opinion of this show. I was disappointed by it and didn't particularly like it, that is true; but I sincerely hope that I have been able to be objective enough to show you that this is indeed a highly professional and proficient production - flawless in its production values.
Matthew.
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