Review: Matilda the Musical - a very special production

"Travis Luke’s performance as the ghastly, bullying, child-hating, hammer-throwing school principal Agatha Trunchbull is remarkable."

Matilda the Musical opened at the Civic Theatre in Invercargill on Saturday night. Photo: NICOLE GOURLEY PHOTOGRAPHY

MATILDA – The MUSICAL

Invercargill Musical Theatre

Civic Theatre, until 26 July

Director: Stephen Robertson

Musical director: Michael Buick KSM

Choreographer: Glen Harris

Associate musical director: Clare Lenihan

Tickets: https://premier.ticketek.co.nz/shows/show.aspx?sh=SBSMATIL25

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Matilda the Musical opened in Invercargill on Saturday night. Chris Chilton was there and has offered up his thoughts.

Opening night of the SBS Bank season of Matilda – The Musical set the gold standard for a show that promised much and exceeded all expectations.

What a marvellous achievement by the directors and cast, who have brought the fantastical Roald Dahl story to life with style and pizzazz.

The sets are cleverly conceived, with dazzling colour creating an almost cartoonish quality, which is very edgy and vibrant. The lighting is well done, used to great effect to complement the action on stage.

Director Stephen Robertson runs a meticulously tight ship, having his actors’ comic timing and delivery flawless. Glen Harris’ choreography is snappy and on point.

The main characters are all excellent.

Tonight’s Matilda (there are three on rotation), eight-year-old Rhiannon Hookey, from Queenstown, is a riveting and charming lead. Her character has a formidable amount of dialogue and she has to deliver it big, which she did brilliantly. Rhiannon is just starting what will no doubt be a glorious stage career.

The only frustration was that her voice wasn’t projected through the sound system as clearly as it could have been at times, especially when she was speaking quickly. No doubt that issue will be addressed for future performances.

There are two other Matildas in this season – Isabelle Jenkins and Pippa Sunshine-Tervit – and a complete change of Matilda’s classmates from show to show. Tonight it was the Mugglewumps, with Marco Kingipotiki featuring strongly as Bruce Bogtrotter. On Sunday I assume it will be the Fizzwigglers’ turn.

It’s quite a directorial challenge running two completely different child casts for alternate shows and keeping the standard consistent, but clearly we are blessed with a large number of talented young performers here in the south.

Travis Luke’s performance as the ghastly, bullying, child-hating, hammer-throwing school principal Agatha Trunchbull is remarkable. His transformation into the malevolent, hunch-backed female ogre of a human being is quite something to behold. I liked his Trunchbull better than the two iterations I saw in the film and musical versions I watched as refreshers before seeing the Invercargill show. Luke is completely unhinged throughout, and thoroughly believable, bringing humour and athleticism to the demanding role. Anyone offering odds on an OSTA nomination?

Matilda’s loathsome parents the Wormwoods are hilariously self-absorbed and stupid. Graham Pirie gets plenty of laughs as the shonky used-car salesman while his vain, dance-obsessed wife Zinnia Wormwood played by Matilda Phillips has some great scenes with her flamboyant dance partner Rudolpho (Tyler Dowling). Matilda’s brother Michael (Caleb Lay) is the apple of his father’s eye and clearly the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree. He gets some great moments. The Wormwoods provide a decent chunk of the comedy in this show, and the actors playing them are really on top of their game.

Matilda’s big-hearted teacher Miss Jenny Honey is superbly played by Kate McIlwrick, who positively glows in the role she was meant to play. She comes across as a kind of Julie Andrews, with the strong singing voice intact.

All the bits from the movie versions you’d expect to see are here: the hair-dying prank, the glued hat, the chocolate cake incident, the pigtailed hammer throwing of Amanda Thripp. This last one is spectacular, and it’s a tribute to the production team that the scene is nailed seamlessly and convincingly.

There are strong cameos from supporting actors. Tyler Dowling goes right over the top as Rudolpho, and Ruth McSoriley is lovely as the librarian Mrs Phelps who laps up Matilda’s wondrous story about the burning woman hurling through the air with dynamite in her hair over sharks and spiky objects, caught by the man locked in the cage.

This is really a very special production. Matilda is a children’s story, after all, and there are many children on stage. But there’s adult-level humour in abundance, the singing is strong, the story cracks along at pace and the visuals are dazzling.

The action and execution resonated with the audience on opening night. Every scene, every song, was warmly applauded. And so it should be.

This is the one you must see. Four shows of this production have already sold out. Nab your tickets soon.