This year’s Barn Theatre Christmas production is Matilda The Musical Jr. An ambitious piece to stage with two alternating casts of young people and no adult performers.
Coupled with the fact it’s a musical, with quite complex dance routines to master, director Katherine Barry, musical director Emma Barry and choreographer Joyce Smith certainly had their work cut out!
And they have done a wonderful job. Their cast of happy kids look like they’re having the time of their lives on stage.
There’s a great pace to this school version of Roald Dahl’s Matilda. The one act, running for just 70 minutes, is busy enough to keep even the most restless audience entertained.
Barry has made good use of the stage, and set, in her direction with entrances made from every angle, so avoiding long scene changes and holding the attention of a young audience.
From the opening number there is a buzz of energy, with children as young as nine performing alongside 17-year-olds portraying dysfunctional adults.
The set and props are clearly functional and the use of in-character stage management, with effortless and fluid changes in view, makes the play very engaging.
The cast as a whole are great. No one expects a cast of youngsters to deliver a completely polished and flawless performance, so the effort and fun clearly on display mean any small first-night imperfections become irrelevant, or are immediately forgiven.
I watched Team Elsa, and while Lilianne Swaile may be small in stature, she is mighty on stage. She gave a great performance as Matilda, with good comic timing.
She is well supported by a superb ensemble of class children and, of course, Sydney Bernitz as Miss Honey. Isaac Geut and Amelia Dimitrova showed great potential as actors through their ability to switch and play two roles within the play.
I found myself disliking Matilda’s parents, played by Gabriela Bailey and Max Dimitrov, just the right amount. The star of the show for me, was Agatha Trunchbull, played by Elsa Wang. She nailed this role completely, and managed to be both dislikeable and funny, which is always a winner.
If you need a reminder of what a sense of community looks like, I encourage you to watch Matilda. This production consists of two casts of young people who are having a ball on stage and I suspect off stage too.
I really hope the friendships on and off the stage create lovely memories for them that last a lifetime. Exactly how youth theatre should be.
If you are a parent of any child in this production, you have every reason to be immensely proud. Once again, the Barn Theatre gives us a family-friendly alternative to a pantomime production.
Matilda The Musical Jr runs until December 27, at 5pm or 7.30pm, with a matinee on December 27 at 2.30pm. All performances are now sold out. Visit the Barn Theatre online at www.barntheatre.co.uk for further details.
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