Review - Matilda the Musical - October 19th 2014


Matilda was the show at the very top of my ‘want to see’ list and so when I visited a friend in London it seemed like a perfect opportunity to finally cross another show off my ever-growing list! Especially given the offer of £5 day tickets for 16-25 year olds provided you queue outside the box office for them.

We woke up at 6 in order to get in line for half seven, where unbelievably there were already people queuing. Then the waiting began. We waited for two and a half hours but finally the box office opened and we were able to go inside and purchase our tickets!! AHHH!!! Having done that, we retreated to Café Nero for a while, then had some lunch and returned to the theatre ready for the show to begin.

Our Matilda was Violet Tucker, who was absolutely outstanding. She spoke so clearly and was so confident and such a brilliant actress, especially during the stories. Her singing voice was so clear too, and I found her Matilda to be very, very likeable and she’s a very talented young performer. Speaking of the stories… Wow I cried a lot…Even more so during My House where Lara Denning gave a stunning performance as Miss Honey. I loved the way the Acrobat and Escapologist parts were both staged and performed. The lighting was outstanding and really atmospheric, the music was hugely emotive and Antony Lawrence who played the Escapologist had a really powerful voice. Really those parts were probably my favourite!

Other cast members included Craige Els who was hilarious and yet simultaneously terrifying as Miss Trunchbull, Lucy Jane Adcock who was the understudy for Mrs Wormwood (her Loud was so enthusiastic I thought she was going to kick herself in the face!), James Clyde who played Mr Wormwood brilliantly, Lisa Davina Phillip whose Mrs Phelps often vocalised just what the audience was thinking, Jason Winter (who I had previously seen in Wicked), and Tommy Sherlock (who I had also seen in the ensemble of Wicked) as Rudolpho and the Doctor respectively! That being said, every member of both the adult and child ensemble was outstandingly enthusiastic and it really made everything much more magical.

The set design was wonderful too. The way the tiles towered over you made you feel very small and the bright colours made you feel very childlike. I loved how creative and just plain cool the set looked, even from our seats in the upper circle!

Overall, the show was brilliant! So, so enjoyable and considering our tickets cost us only £5, a very affordable day out too!

Verdict - 4 Stars

Twitter: @OddJazzShoes
Bloglovin: Talkstageytome