Matilda The Musical

24 August 2015 | 11:36 am | Hannah Story

"You forget that Matilda was ever anything but a musical."

Do you hate musicals? Do you love musicals? Are you ambivalent? It doesn't matter — you'll love Matilda The Musical.

It may be the only modern musical, or at least the only one of the last 20 or so years, to reflect upon our times — upon helicopter parenting and the endless parroting of self-esteem as the cure to all ills; upon ruthless individualism; education; the importance of friendship; who we will be when we grow up. They're timeless subjects, seeming especially pertinent now. The musical is also a whole lot of fun, taking Dahl's dark humour and moralising, adding in Tim Minchin's wit and songwriting, and letting writer Dennis Kelly pull it all together into something that transcends any limitations of form or story structure.

The musical follows Matilda Wormwood (tonight, it's 11-year-old Bella Thomas), girl-genius, neglected by her parents who'd rather she was "normal" and watched telly, instead of reading Dostoyevsky. The terrifying Gold medal hammer throw winner Miss Trunchbull (James Millar) terrorises her at school; her disinterested parents do so at home; but still Matilda survives, with the support of her kindergarten teacher Miss Honey (Elise McCann), and her new friends. Every member of the cast plays their role astutely, especially the children, who provide many of the most impressive moments; the choreography by Peter Darling is detailed and memorable, particularly a section where the children swing out over the audience; the set design adds more than just colour to the playful show, books and letters and shelves piled high and spelling out our titular character's name over and over. And our Minchin has written songs that are both funny and touching, perfectly interspersed with the action; you forget that Matilda was ever anything but a musical.

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In the end, the musical does justice to Roald Dahl's 1988 text, and that's really all we could ask for. It also takes us out of the endless spate of revivals — did we need another Anything Goes? — and gives us something fresh and dark, a wonder.