Being little has never felt so big!
What better way to spend the joy of world book day surrounded by fellow book and theatre lovers. Matilda, The Roahl Dahl classic reimagined by the Royal Shakespeare Company, has been a staple in London’s West End for over a decade now, and returning to Edinburgh for the first time since 2019 the Scottish folk have welcomed it back with open arms.
I first must praise the glorious, perfectly themed set and proscenium arch designed by Rob Howell. The colourful display over the stage is adorned with scrabble-like letters, spelling out different elements of the show, and scattered letters of Matilda’s name. The set itself utilises this same lettering technique, with words like ‘silence’ being spelled across the library shelves. The whole set is a show in itself; I could stare at it for hours.
At this performance the role of Matilda was played by Madison Davis, who is sharing the role with Olivia Ironmonger, Sanna Kurihara, and Mollie Hutton across the tour. Davis portrayed our fiery protagonist with all the wit and charm required; she gave the audience a masterclass in vocals and heart, carrying much of the story on her back and never once faltering. Her performance alongside Tessa Kadler (Miss Honey) felt comforting and warm, the pair playing wonderfully a nurturing teacher determined to see a little girl shine, and a little girl finally feeling seen for all she is.
The down-right evil but admittedly hilarious performances of Richard Hurst (Miss Trunchbull), Adam Stafford (Mr Wormwood), and Rebecca Thornhill (Mrs Wormwood) also get a crack out of the audience. While their horrendous attitude towards children made me sneer, their comeuppance couldn’t help but make me giggle. The Edinburgh audiences seemed endlessly fond of the madness, with Thornhill’s bleach-blonde battiness, Hurst’s physical comedy as the horrendous Trunchbull, and Stafford’s charisma with not only his cast but the audience too (I won’t say much more… but beware if you are a bookworm sitting in the first few rows) all made for one group of glorious baddies.
The story itself has us following the same characters as the book, however certain beats are adapted to give the stage show some meat, and unfortunately these are a hit or miss. The added narrative of Matilda telling a story to the loving Librarian Mrs Phelps (Warmly played by Esther Niles) of an escapologist and an acrobat falling in love is charming and heartwarming, however Mr Wormwood’s run in with the Russian Mafia could have been left in the writing room.
Overall, Matilda’s return to Scotland’s Capital is one to celebrate, and if an evening full of bookish charm and belly-laugh comedy sounds like your thing then Edinburgh playhouse is the place to be. Matilda is running until 22nd March at the Edinburgh Playhouse before continuing on tour across the UK until 2027.