Matilda the Musical
So I’ve got about four half-finished Matilda reviews in my drafts
folder. It’s been difficult to write them lately as I’ve been sitting in the
back of the Upper Circle, and therefore miss the details of the show and
performances, making it far more difficult to write. So I finally got to sit back
in the Stalls (front row, even), and have enough thoughts about the show to
write a complete review again! Yay! I’m going to do this by performer; I won’t
write about everyone, just those that stood out to me (whether for good or bad
reasons).
Seat/Venue Review: I sat in A7 in the Stalls. I love the Stalls at
the Cambridge Theatre; great view, lots of legroom, lots of bathrooms –
absolutely no complaints.
Evie Hone (Matilda)
After a marathon of seeing Lizzie Wells and Lara McDonnell, I final
saw someone new! I was really excited to see Evie as I’d seen a few glimpses of
her at Oxford St Christmas Lights, and liked her a lot. So it was really
thrilling to see her name on the cast board when I walked into the theatre.
Evie was a nice Matilda. She was absolutely adorable and innocent
looking, with a very high-pitched voice. She was a good dancer who was sharp
and didn’t look awkward, and she had minimal stumbles over her lines (only two
fumbles that I counted) and she spoke very clearly (I had no trouble
understanding her), though she did spend a lot of time fiddling with her
costumes. My main problem with her was that she was quite unresponsive in her
acting, especially when opposite any of the adult performers. When Mr Wormwood
was ripping up Matilda’s book, Evie didn’t even look like she was paying
attention. Her face was totally blank; she didn’t look upset, or angry, or sad,
or anything… nothing. Matilda can be quite stoic, but that doesn’t equal
emotionless. In My House, Evie said the lines very blankly and bluntly, and
didn’t really appear to be showing sympathy or empathy for Miss Honey, which is
a characteristic I really think Matilda needs to show. Evie’s acting was great
when she was on her own though, and when she was working opposite other kids
(her and Lavender’s interaction during the Thripp Throw was amazing).
One of my favourite moments of Evie was her hugging Miss Honey; she
nearly sprinted at her, and it was really cute and emotional. It felt like
Matilda was so desperate for love that she abandoned her usually stoic exterior
and showed a lot of love and feeling towards Miss Honey. I really liked this
detail. I also liked how she did the choreography in Quiet a little bit
differently than the other girls; it seemed as if her Matilda was really
considering her words and actions, and her arms ‘burst’ out when it felt right
emotionally, rather than when the choreography called for it.
Miria Parvin (Miss Honey)
I can’t say enough good things about Miria’s portrayal of Miss
Honey. It’s sensitive, intuitive, detailed, thoughtful… I could go on for a
while. She's very motherly towards Matilda - with all the kids, actually. She gets down on the kids' levels to speak to them, and is very kind and understanding towards all of them. But you can also sense that she's trying to hide the hurt and vulnerability in front of the kids. When Trunchbull is screaming at her in front of the children, she stays very resolute and stony-faced, which makes her complete breakdown in front of Matilda really heartbreaking. Some of the details I love about Miria are at the end of My House, when the Escapologist/Her Father places his hand on her arm, her voice cracks, almost as if she can feel his presence. It's a beautiful and effective moment. I also really love her completely over the top dance at the end of Bruce (it's hysterical but also shocking - which probably makes it more funny). The final detail I wanted to mention is during the scene where Matilda is writing on the chalkboard; before she starts to write "Run", Miss Honey nods and says "Run" first; it's like Matilda got the idea to say that from Miss Honey. It's cute seeing how Miss Honey is really hopeful for a second that it really is her father, but when she sees that it's Matilda; she doesn't get angry or upset. It's sort of a quiet acceptance and a wave of affection for this girl who's trying to help her in the only way she can. I loved Miria's performance and all the emotion and intricacies it contained. I'll happily see her Miss Honey a dozen more times.
Oliver Brooks (u/s
Trunchbull)
I honestly don’t see a lot of difference between him and Craige Els;
aside from a few little nuances and details, Oliver’s Trunchbull is a carbon
copy of Craige’s. Voices sound the same, mannerisms are the same. Oliver does a
good job, but there’s nothing original or innovative about his performance;
I’ve seen it all before. One thing at this show that was funny was he dropped
the ribbon at the end of The Hammer. The music ended, Oliver stopped, picked
the ribbon up with as much contempt as he could muster, and then said “Now get
out!”; I thought this could’ve gone so badly, but he handled it exactly how
Trunchbull would’ve. It was a nice touch.
Rebecca Thornhill (Mrs
Wormwood)
Have to admit, I’m not her biggest fan. She doesn’t really play with
the character enough; it’s a very ‘safe’ approach. Mrs Wormwood is such an
exuberant, lively character, and Rebecca made her very lackluster, and far too
catty for my taste. I also didn’t find her dancing very strong; she’s not very
flexible (her drop split is entirely cheated; she doesn’t do a split at all,
and she really depends on her partner to get her legs where they need to be.
She also doesn’t express very much when she’s dancing, which is when Mrs
Wormwood should be at her most alive. I didn’t like her Rudolpho (John Brannoch); he isn’t flexible either (Rudolpho’s main
characteristics are part-Italian and ‘supple’, aka flexible… so Rudolpho needs
to be flexible!) and I just don’t find anything interesting about watching him,
because he’s not an extraordinary dancer, nor did he really have fun with the
character. Both he and Rebecca are mean and catty rather than humorous. In this
case I guess they’re a good partnership – they’re both equally bland to watch.
Michael Begley (Mr
Wormwood)
Well, I’m a bit annoyed because he called me a smelly little
bookworm…. That wasn’t very nice. ( ;) ) But otherwise, he was really good.
Very stern, serious Mr Wormwood, with an unintentionally humorous streak. But
he wasn’t necessarily mean to Matilda – he just ignored her and had his
occasional bouts of anger that were directed at her. He actually reminded me a
lot of my dad, which is maybe why I felt a bit of sympathy towards his character.
Anyway, it made his little interaction with Matilda at the end of the show more
believable and heartwarming. I liked how he ripped up Matilda’s book; he was
really over-exaggerating the struggles of figuring out how to rip it to the
point that I was having hysterics in the front row. It was the same with the
hat and the green hair. He had these great comical moments that cooled down the
intensity of the scenes and provided much-needed comic relief. Anyway, loved
him, love his Mr Wormwood, don’t love being called a ‘S-Worm’.
Ensemble
Alice (Lia Moxom) and Amanda (Caoimhe Judd)
were amazing. Really expressive and interesting; they didn’t just scrunch their
faces up the entire show, they actually showed a variet of different emotions
from fear, to enthusiasm/excitement, to triumph – great range from these two,
who also seemed to have strong singing voices and sharp, accurate dancing. Amanda
was so cute during the throw; really great acting from her, and her lines were
clear and well-spoken. Hortensia (Tilly
Cook) was the exact opposite; I could barely hear her during her individual
lines, and her dancing looked sloppy and lacked character. She wasn’t doing
much acting-wise either. Olly Dobson
played both the Doctor and Michael Wormwood. I loved his acting; he brought a
great personality and enthusiasm to the doctor (coupled with a strong singing
voice), and he was so funny as Michael.
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