Marvellous Musical Matilda

'Only for children under the age of 90', says the sign in the foyer.  Although if you are over 90 and can get to the Cambridge Theatre you will also have a brilliant time.

Roald Dahl's writing lends itself to silly musicals,  with cartoon-like stories and discordant themes you can hear a soundtrack as you read the books.  The Rhymes have been turned into fantastic school plays, which have always delighted both the children performing them and their parents who are forced to watch and say how wonderful their little angels are. Tim Minchin is responsible for the music and lyrics of this version of Matilda and as an admirer of his work (particularly the beautifully crafted F#)  I couldn't wait to see this musical.

I was not disappointed.  The Children were brilliant.  The RSC have three sets of children and four Matildas.  We saw Sophia Kiely as Matilda and she was amazing.  I'm never sure if a musical that relies so heavily on children is a good idea.  Sometimes the words of the songs get lost in immature diction and the sound can be a little squeeky but Sophia was very easy to listen to. The children's choreographed scenes were brilliant too. Our seats were right at the back of the theatre and what we lost in intimacy was more than made up for by the  birds-eye view of the choreography, especially in the gym scene and the swing scene.

The casting was perfect.  Miss Honey was pretty and delicate with a sweet voice; Mrs Wormwood was course and raspy; Mr Wormwood was very funny and Miss Trunchbull was a show stealer.  Bertie Carvel's performance deserves a special mention as he never over-played his part and his acrobatic skills left me feeling a little faint.

If I had one criticism it would be that Bruce Bogtrotter's cake didn't look delicious enough.

My favourite part of any musical always comes from the people in black.  A musical would be nothing without the band and this band were brilliant. They are listed in the program as the Cruncham Hall Orchestra (Matilda's school orchestra).  You knew you were in for a special treat when they started, playing out of time and out of tune (on purpose) and clearly having a wonderful time doing so.   This musical also gets top marks for acknowledging the band and bringing them onto stage for their well deserved applause at the end.

I loved this show and hope that the music score gets published soon as I can't wait to do the School Song with my school choir.