Matilda the Musical (Review)

After seeing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Aladdin already this year, I wasn't expecting to see another London West End Musical anytime soon but when my mum came for a visit to London she had another plan. I wasn't to complain! 

Click here to buy tickets to Matilda the Musical and here to watch the trailer.

We were in Covent Garden saying goodbye to my cousin who was going travelling for a while and as we were heading back to my new flat, we decided last minute to get tickets. Matilda was on my list of shows to see put it wasn't a big priority for me. Boy was I wrong!

I don't know if my expectations were super low or if really was an incredible show, but I was quite honestly blown away.

I loved the Happy Birthday song and how all the children and adults/parents interacted seamlessly.

I found the whole adults and pupils really interesting and clever. It worked really well as they did the trickier sequences while still allowing the children to showcase their talents. Without a doubt, my favourite scene was the opening scene at school with the older pupils telling the new ones how terrible the school is. The song was perfect but the choreography and imagery used was amazing. I was fascinated watching the alphabet blocks put in and the dancers climb up, down and across them all simultaneously coordinating with each other to a perfect beat. That sequence is probably my favourite scene from any theatre performance I have ever seen.

The actors portrayal of each character was perfectly casted and directed. I love how they exaggerated everyone's temperament. It really worked well. It almost seemed pantomime-like at times but personally I liked the more interactive side.

I mean seriously look at this head teacher! Each song fit perfectly and it defintely added to the film rather than detract.

Speaking of the film, there are some very iconic scenes. One being when the young pigtailed girl is swung and flung out of the school. I loved that they incorporated that into the performance and I still have absolutely no idea how the girl dropped from the ceiling in the middle of the audience and a real girl appeared in his hands. I was whooping with joy along with the rest of the audience. My favourite scene is probably the scenes at Miss Trunchbull's house, especially the floating chocolate scene. I was a little disappointed that they didn't include that scene in the performance but with the addition of an extra scene, it would have mean more costly and time constraints probably don't allow. I was pleased that they had the chalk writing on the board though. 

When the first library scene came on I was utterly confused but in the end, I could see where the idea came from. It was a really interesting twist the story told through the main plot. I really like this addition but I'll leave it as a surprise!

Overall, I really liked this theatre production! I thought it was really fun and interesting. While it wasn't anything like I expected, each scene continued to amaze me. It's very much the essence of Matilda (the film) but that's where the similarities stop. The majority of the film is missing and instead an extra story-told plot is intertwined, along with songs and carefully thought out choreography.

It was truly a hilarious, moving and magical production of Matilda.The transformation to the theatre version has deepened the original story and the script explores the undiscovered joy, humour and tenderness within.