SIX adult performers Richard Hurst, Tessa Kadler, Rebecca Thornhiil, Adam Stafford, Ryan Lay, and Esther Niles brought a considerable amount of dramatic, vocal and dance talent to the roles of (respectively) Miss Trunchbull, Miss Honey, Mrs and Mr Wormwood, Rudolpho and Mrs Phelps, and thoroughly deserved the warm reception they received when taking their final bows at the end of Matilda, the Musical, at the Hippodrome.

That reception paled a little however when compared to the audiences response for the nine scene-stealing young players who portrayed Matilda and her class mates.

It wasn’t that the younger members of the cast set out to steal scenes but they exuded enough enthusiasm and energy to light up the whole of central Bristol, with a great deal left over for the outer suburbs. The adult members of the cast found themselves fighting for their theatrical lives in order to hold their own when faced with such opposition.

The young performers were headed by eleven-year-old Sanna Kurihara, (one of four talented young players sharing the role of Matilda), playing and looking exactly as you would expect the six year old Matilda to be, but with the pose and confidence of a mature experienced actor. The way in which she and the other eight young players handled Peter Darling’s choreography – far more complex than the disco jigging routines seen in a juke box musical – was a match for any of the dance and vocal contributions of a fully committed professional adult ensemble.

As is often the case with a Roald Dahl story, there is a dark and frighteningly realistic side to this tale of Matilda, unwanted by her self-centred dance-crazy mother – a fine piece of controlled exaggerated playing by Rebecca Thornhill. Her tango with her dance partner, Ryan Lay, both flashily dressed by Rob Howell to look cheap and nasty, was a master-class in overplaying. Father Adam Stafford as phony car salesman Mr Wormwood sailed down similar lines with equal effect.

Sent like an unwanted package to Crunchem Hall Primary School, Matilda clashes head on with the frighteningly beat’em and flog’em headmistress Miss Trunchbull (Richard Hurst). This is no actor playing in drag for laughs, but a serious well-drawn portrait of a bullying dictator living on past glories.

In addition to her school chums, Matilda finds someone else, teacher Miss Honey, a beautifully crafted and sympathetic performance from Tessa Kadler. Unlike Miss Trunchbull, she appreciates the knowledge and intellect Matilda has acquired through her fascination with books and words. Most of that knowledge is gained at the public library where Ester Niles provides an ideal sounding board as librarian Mrs Phelps.

Thanks to Rob Howell’s imaginative set designs, lit to excellent effect by Hugh Vanstone, director Matthew Warchus was able to take the story through the harsh realities of Crunchem Hall School to the fantasies of Miss Trunchbull’s mind and Matilda’s insights into past and future events.

With composer Tim Minchin supplying a score and lyrics completely in sympathy with Dennis Kelly’s book, that never shies away from the compelling dark side of Roald Dahl’s original story, this is a top quality production that is fascinating and at times a little frightening, but never dull or boring.

Matilda the Musical is at Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday 27th June.

GRP

 

Photograph by Manuel Harlan