‘Matilda The Musical’ is zingy, refreshing and inventive

When the magic of childhood meets the sharp cynicism of adulthood, the results can be explosive.

This is a lavish, joyful production, with fun fizzling in almost every scene. Even the serious parts are laced with a playful humour that’s clever enough to delight adults as much as the kids.

Dennis Kelly wrote the stage version and Australian comedian and composer Tim Minchin penned the songs in true Dahl style. The ingenious lyrics span powerful emotions like hope, courage and loneliness, while others are just for amusement. Particularly entertaining is the School Song, as it cheats its way through the alphabet with some hilarious grammatical mangling.

There are several layers to the plot and a never-ending kaleidoscope of action, including the Russian mafia, a fake Italian dancer, and Matilda’s mysterious ability to conjure up true stories. All wrapped around the messages that’s okay to be different, it’s cool to be a brainy bookworm, and standing up to cruel or unfair treatment is essential. But most of all it’s superbly entertaining, with laughter bubbling up every few minutes even as neglected Matilda presents her bravest face.

Morgan Santo played Matilda on opening night, and won everyone’s heart with her flawless acting, clear voice, and her perfect blend of vulnerability and confidence. Jack Fokkens was another young highlight as Bruce Bogtrotter, the boy made to eat a whole chocolate cake for daring to sneak one slice.

Photo by Christiaan Kotze/SASPA

The father (Stephen Jubber) is excellent in an awful way, a double-dealing wide-boy with a garish green checked suit and very funny physical actions. Dahl has him extolling the values of The Telly as a learning mechanism, with his own stupidity and the dead-eyed bulk of his TV addict son presenting a not-so-subtle contract to bright-eyed Matilda. If your kids spend too long glued to their smartphone, wrench it off them and bring them here.

Everybody gets a chance to shine and they all grab their moments superbly. The acting is impeccable, the choreography is clever and fun, and the staging is bold and beautiful.

It begins by showing two different sides of the parenting coin – those who tell their snotty-nosed mediocre kids what a special little miracle they are, and those who didn’t want a brat at all. This is the behind-closed-doors reality in a lot of homes, but it’s presented with such charm and wit that it remains funny despite the dark undertones.

The eight-piece band in the orchestra pit led by Louis Zurnamer is perfectly attuned to the action, gently setting the mood in between stepping it up for the songs.

Matilda The Musical runs at Montecasino’s Teatro in Johannesburg until 2 December, then transfers to Cape Town’s Artscape from 9 December to 13 January. Tickets from Computicket.