*****
Book: Dennis Kelly
Music and Lyrics: Tim Minchin
Director: Matthew Warchus
The Courtyard Theatre
Stratford-upon-Avon
Saturday 16th January 2011
Matilda isn’t a Roald Dahl book I can remember reading as a child. I remember The Twits, James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But upon booking tickets to see the RSC’s new adaption of one of Dahl’s most loved stories, my sole familiarity with Matilda came from the 1996 Hollywood film.
Having booked relatively late to see the show (which now seems a completely incomprehensible thing to do) my seat was situated on the extreme left side of the theatre; the furthest seat available before you’d end up in the wings. As a result, during the opening number I could see what was happening behind a screen which concealed the reveal of a new-born baby to the rest of the audience. My first moment of delight, therefore, came upon witnessing the actors continuing to act even when out of sight. The opening musical medley set the quirky, spiky tone of the show, with “Miracle” starting small but building to a climax, as so many of Tim Minchin’s ingenious songs tend to do. The music and lyrics of the rest of the show continued in the same vein of anarchic delight. A particular highlight was “When I Grow Up”, the song which opens Act 2, and one for which Minchin reportedly had to fight to have included. Thank goodness he did, because this song – with its incredible staging (one word: SWINGS), close harmonies, gorgeously simple lyrics and a key change designed to tug at the heart strings – left many-a-face streaked with tears during the applause. But I speak mainly of the adults in the audience. Because, as Minchin knowingly asserted in a recent interview with the Telegraph, “What’s interesting is that you can just stick some text out there and adults will bring their own baggage to it. The kids won’t notice it at all.” I am an 18-year-old about to start university, feeling distinctly as if my childhood is coming to an end. These lyrics have me welling up right now as I sit at my computer: “When I grow up/I will be tall enough to reach the branches/that I need to reach to climb the trees you get to climb when you're grown up”.
This show is incredibly faithful to the original text in terms of atmosphere and through its emphasis of certain themes. Whilst the movie adaptation bloated Matilda’s magical gift, Dennis Kelly has drawn from the story the importance of learning, curiosity and innocence (albeit whilst allowing Matilda to be “a little bit naughty”). Although Dahl’s book has an episodic structure which wouldn’t naturally lend itself to theatre, the musical works thanks to Kelly’s inclusion of a sub-plot of sorts. The RSC’s Matilda befriends a local librarian and begins to tell her hugely imaginative stories, which intertwine with the main plot and culminate in a subtle twist at the end of the show. Characterisation is another strong aspect of the production, largely thanks to actors Paul Kay (Mr Wormwood), Josie Walker (Mrs Wormwood) and the magnificent Bertie Carvel as Miss Trunchbull. Having a cast of young children playing Matilda’s classmates is a stroke of genius from the show’s director Matthew Warchus. Each and every child was a seamless performer and pulled off Peter Darling’s fitting choreography with style, conviction and massive energy. Ultimately, this is a show created by people who understand childhood, rebellion and Roald Dahl’s writing. I have no doubt that the creative team have produced an adaptation that Dahl himself would have delighted in.
It is a cliché to claim that a musical can appeal to audience members of all ages, but the cliché has never been so appropriate. Now, as Matilda, A Musical becomes Matilda, The Musical at the Cambridge Theatre in London’s West End, a whole new wave of audiences will be blown away by the cleverness and perceptiveness of this flawless show, and the un-restrained talent of its “revolting children”.
[Matilda, The Musical opens for previews at the Cambridge Theatre on 18th October]
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