‘Matilda the Musical’ is a musical based on the 1988 children’s novel (also called ‘Matilda’) by Roald Dahl. The music and lyrics are by Tim Minchin and is brilliantly written for young children.

The narrative tells the story of Matilda, an intelligent 5-year-old girl, with the gift of telekinesis, who loves reading, but is born in an emotionally abusive family. When Matilda goes to school, she also finds the headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, is terrifying and hates little children. Matilda’s saving grace is her classroom teacher, Miss Honey, who helps her overcome various obstacles and shows Matilda the love she deserves. Matilda teaches her family ‘lessons’ by supergluing her father’s hat to his head and dying her mother’s hair green. Eventually, the musical climaxes with Miss Trunchbull trying to force the children into the ‘Chokey’ (a jail-like contraption made up of glass and nails inside). Matilda, however, uses her telekinesis to write on the blackboard and convinces Miss Trunchbull the ghost of Miss Honey’s father is haunting her, scaring her away from school forever. Miss Honey becomes headmistress and adopts Matilda, while the rest of the Wormwoods move to Spain.

Tim Minchin’s music and lyrics are incredibly clever and filled with hilarious puns, which, in my opinion, is the reason why the show is so successful. The melodies are catchy and fun (School Song), but in the plot’s more serious moments, the music becomes wistful and poignant (When I Grow Up), which every adult and child can most definitely relate to.

This week, the Junior School have performed two nights of a unique double-casted rendition of ‘Matilda the Musical’. The junior girls have worked so hard learning the complicated music and the choreography over many months. The production has been masterminded by the wonderful Rachel Floyd and Georgia Robinson, and while the senior school have away on their expeditions, our youngest students have been pulling off a performance of a lifetime!

Miss Murata, Composer in Residence