Date: Wednesday 13th June 2:30pm
Seats: G17-18 Upper Circle
Having heard rave reviews on Matilda the musical, I visited
the Cambridge Theatre in the heart of London’s West End with very high
expectations. Needless to say I was not disappointed. This stunning production
is an absolute ‘Must See’. Tim Minchin (Music and lyrics) has said, “Theatre
should always aim to make its audience laugh and cry, unless there’s a really
good reason why not” and that’s exactly what this production does in bucket loads!
Matilda the musical is the RSC stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1988 novel “Matilda”.
It tells the tale of bookworm Matilda’s love for stories, which give her the
confidence to challenge her wicked headmistress and her unaffectionate parents.
Five young girls share the role of Matilda, and on this occasion
I had the pleasure of seeing Cleo Demetriou in the title role. The little girl
was a “Miracle” and is sure to be a West End star of the future. Cleo led the
cast with total ease, and has a wealth of stage experience far beyond her
tender years. Starring alongside her, were eight other classmates of a similar
age, who were absolutely faultless in their singing, dancing and acting. Steve
Furst and understudy Verity Bentham had fantastic comical timing as ‘Mr and Mrs
Wormwood’, with a beautiful portrayal of school teacher ‘Miss Honey’ played by
Haley Flaherty. For me, Bertie Carvel stole the show as headmistress ‘Miss Agatha
Trunchball’, his Olivier award winning performance was nothing less than
fantastic.
For me, the choreography by Peter Darling was unlike
anything I’ve ever seen. It was rhythmically difficult, abstract and perfectly
executed by all of the company members including the children. To not give much
away the set design, lighting and illusions were full of surprises, (would have
liked to have sat closer to the stage to be closer to the magical effects). Cast
entrances and exits were made through doors built into the side and front of
the set but could not always see these from where we sitting. However, for
£29.50 the seats were excellent and we had a great view of the stage itself. I
will definitely be revisiting the Cambridge Theatre and will quite willingly
pay Top Price Tickets of £61.50 – to be frank – this production is worth every
penny. I loved it *****
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| Cambridge Theatre |
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| Cleo Demetriou as Matilda |
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| Our view from G Row Upper Circle |
