Matilda: a magical and marvellous show
In November, Year 7 went to London to see the musical 'Matilda', Eliane Larbi reports on a magical experience.
On 8 November 2023, the majority of Year 7 experienced a phenomenal ‘Matilda the Musical’ theatrical performance at Cambridge Theatre. There were spectacular scenes, thrilling tricks and superb songs.
The scene I liked the most has just got to be when the diabolical Ms Trunchbull swung poor old Amanda, a pupil that attended Crunchem Hall School, round by her adorable pigtails, as Ms Trunchbull absolutely despised them. I had thrills and chills running down my spine -it was the most astounding moment I have ever witnessed on stage! There were booms and bangs, flashes of light and roaring sounds during that scene: It was a wondrous act.
All of the characters were absolutely fantastic, but one of my favorites has just got to be Ms Phellps, the librarian who worked in a library close to Matilda’s house. I just loved how she was so intrigued by Matilda’s story of the escapologist and the acrobat. Additionally, she always praised Matilda for the stories that she created and how studious she was. This made me feel content that Matilda actually had someone to tell her how bright and intelligent she is as I felt that Matilda did not really see that in herself - so to have someone that could tell her how amazing she really is was fantastic.
Now, to the songs... All of them were just outstanding, especially with all of the choreography going on at the same time - it just made the play even more special. I really loved the song ‘Pathetic’ by Miss Honey, Matilda’s school teacher. In this song Miss Honey is contemplating whether she should knock on Ms Trunchbull’s door to tell her that Matilda is an extraordinary girl and deserves to be put in a higher levelled class. She is telling herself that she must do it, but she does not want to as she is worried about what Ms Trunchbull might think and what her reaction will be. I really like this song as it is like two sides of her are competing against each other – ironically, it is also quite funny as she compares herself to a little girl at the principal's office which provides a sense of comedic relief that deescalates the serious nature of the scene itself.
The whole musical was packed with humorous moments, but one that I found quite funny was the scene where Lavender (Matilda’s friend from school) found a newt and was just itching to pull one of her funny tricks. So, she decided to drop the newt into Ms Trunchbull’s water so that she would end up drinking it. And it totally worked! Ms Trunchbull ended up practically dancing on stage and shrieking “IT’S IN MY KNICKERS! IT’S IN MY KNICKERS!” At this point, I just laughed and laughed at the hilariously depicted moment of Ms Trunchbull getting a taste of her own medicine.
There were a few heartfelt and emotional moments in the play but there were three that affected me the most. One was when the escapologist’s wife, in Matilda’s story passed away when she gave birth to a baby as it was too much effort and sadly passed away.
Another one is when Matilda had to make up that she had parents who were proud of her and praised her, but the emotional moment being that the audience knew she did not have parents like that, as they never liked Matilda or let her feel loved and appreciated by them.
Finally, the last emotional moment in Matilda’s story was when the escapologist came home one day and heard her daughter crying in a small, enclosed room because her auntie had trapped her and hit her multiple times. The escapologist’s sister-in-law had to care for his daughter since his wife had died and he crashed the door open and gave her the biggest embrace any father could ever wish for - it was such a sweet, genuine moment. All these moments really got to me, but I was just so engaged in every one of the scenes. I feel that that is what the actors were trying to accomplish, and – in my opinion - they definitely succeeded.
Matilda the musical is definitely an experience that I will never forget. Some of the moments I was even baffled by, like when Matilda was using her mind to control the chalk writing on the chalkboard, or when Amanda Thrippen was being grabbed by her pigtails.
The whole musical was filled with wonder and magic, and it completely exploded on stage.
From the beginning to the middle and all the way to the end, it was miraculous, and this show has definitely got to be 5 stars for me.
Eliane Larbi, Year 7
On 8 November 2023, the majority of Year 7 experienced a phenomenal ‘Matilda the Musical’ theatrical performance at Cambridge Theatre. There were spectacular scenes, thrilling tricks and superb songs.
The scene I liked the most has just got to be when the diabolical Ms Trunchbull swung poor old Amanda, a pupil that attended Crunchem Hall School, round by her adorable pigtails, as Ms Trunchbull absolutely despised them. I had thrills and chills running down my spine -it was the most astounding moment I have ever witnessed on stage! There were booms and bangs, flashes of light and roaring sounds during that scene: It was a wondrous act.
All of the characters were absolutely fantastic, but one of my favorites has just got to be Ms Phellps, the librarian who worked in a library close to Matilda’s house. I just loved how she was so intrigued by Matilda’s story of the escapologist and the acrobat. Additionally, she always praised Matilda for the stories that she created and how studious she was. This made me feel content that Matilda actually had someone to tell her how bright and intelligent she is as I felt that Matilda did not really see that in herself - so to have someone that could tell her how amazing she really is was fantastic.
Now, to the songs... All of them were just outstanding, especially with all of the choreography going on at the same time - it just made the play even more special. I really loved the song ‘Pathetic’ by Miss Honey, Matilda’s school teacher. In this song Miss Honey is contemplating whether she should knock on Ms Trunchbull’s door to tell her that Matilda is an extraordinary girl and deserves to be put in a higher levelled class. She is telling herself that she must do it, but she does not want to as she is worried about what Ms Trunchbull might think and what her reaction will be. I really like this song as it is like two sides of her are competing against each other – ironically, it is also quite funny as she compares herself to a little girl at the principal's office which provides a sense of comedic relief that deescalates the serious nature of the scene itself.
The whole musical was packed with humorous moments, but one that I found quite funny was the scene where Lavender (Matilda’s friend from school) found a newt and was just itching to pull one of her funny tricks. So, she decided to drop the newt into Ms Trunchbull’s water so that she would end up drinking it. And it totally worked! Ms Trunchbull ended up practically dancing on stage and shrieking “IT’S IN MY KNICKERS! IT’S IN MY KNICKERS!” At this point, I just laughed and laughed at the hilariously depicted moment of Ms Trunchbull getting a taste of her own medicine.
There were a few heartfelt and emotional moments in the play but there were three that affected me the most. One was when the escapologist’s wife, in Matilda’s story passed away when she gave birth to a baby as it was too much effort and sadly passed away.
Another one is when Matilda had to make up that she had parents who were proud of her and praised her, but the emotional moment being that the audience knew she did not have parents like that, as they never liked Matilda or let her feel loved and appreciated by them.
Finally, the last emotional moment in Matilda’s story was when the escapologist came home one day and heard her daughter crying in a small, enclosed room because her auntie had trapped her and hit her multiple times. The escapologist’s sister-in-law had to care for his daughter since his wife had died and he crashed the door open and gave her the biggest embrace any father could ever wish for - it was such a sweet, genuine moment. All these moments really got to me, but I was just so engaged in every one of the scenes. I feel that that is what the actors were trying to accomplish, and – in my opinion - they definitely succeeded.
Matilda the musical is definitely an experience that I will never forget. Some of the moments I was even baffled by, like when Matilda was using her mind to control the chalk writing on the chalkboard, or when Amanda Thrippen was being grabbed by her pigtails.
The whole musical was filled with wonder and magic, and it completely exploded on stage.
From the beginning to the middle and all the way to the end, it was miraculous, and this show has definitely got to be 5 stars for me.
Eliane Larbi, Year 7