Most Magical Matilda - part 2

Matilda - Cambridge Theatre, London, 30th November 2011 - Act 2:

Do not continue to read if you do not want to know any possible spoilers.

At the end of the interval Mr Wormwood appears onstage with a disclaimer and asks for our attention (so make sure you are back in your seat ASAP) as he has a very important announcement to make. He would like to apologise for some of the things going on here today as they are not nice things and they are not right things. And they do not want any children to go home and try these things out for themselves – of course he is talking about READING! It is not normal for kids to behave in this fashion and warns the children that if they do read they will go blind, become smelly, get verrucas of the soul.

He then asks for any grown up who reads and picks on them, “book worms are stupid”… He then introduces what he considers to be "the pinnacle of our success as a species": television ("All I Know I Learnt From Telly") – and Michael brings a telly onstage. This is so funnily done with Mr Wormwood singing the words and with Michael always shouting out the word “telly” and having a kids’ guitar in his hands just pulling one string once in a while.

After this the show goes straight into the for me most beautiful scene of the whole show with the ensemble singing “When I Grow Up". First the kids appear and get on swings coming down from the ceiling starting the number, then the adults appear taking over also getting on swings and also Miss Honey and Matilda appear with Miss Honey lamenting and Matilda resolving to put an end to Miss Trunchbull's cruelty.

"When I Grow Up" scene

At the end of the number everyone leaves but Lavender, Matilda’s best friend who confides in the audience (or more blabs as she is not to tell anyone) that, after being given the job of preparing Miss Trunchbull's jug of water, she found a newt and put it in the jug.

In the next scene Matilda is back in the library asking Mrs Phelps where the revenge section is and Mrs Phelps is getting worried. We are then straight back in Matilda’s story of the acrobat and the escapologist. The acrobat whose sister forces her to do the dangerous trick is off to do that number but it ends with a tragedy – the acrobat dies but just after giving birth to her daughter. And things get worse (and Mrs Phelps is not a happy bunny – “Mrs Phelps it is just a story” as she always gets very emotional when Matilda tells her stories) as the evil sister moves into the house to look after the daughter.

Back at home Mr Wormwood tells the family of his latest success selling 155 (with the mileage manipulated) second hand cars to some Russians. Oops. Matilda tells her father that he cheated and she is sent to her room which suddenly feels more like a prison cell and she continues telling her story to herself with the sister of the escapologist (voiced over by Miss Trunchbull) sending the child to the room but then the escapologist comes home earlier one day and comes to rescue his daughter from the evil sister and his daughter begs his Daddy not to cry with Matilda singing these daughter lines. The escapologist wants revenge and faces the sister never returning to his daughter.

Back in the school Miss Honey brought along some books for Matilda but Miss Trunchbull takes them away and suddenly we are in the middle of a PE lesson as “to teach a child we must first break the child”. Miss Trunchbull asks for her jug of water and Lavender brings it to her, of course with the newt in it. And the breaking begins - "The Smell of Rebellion". The kids are being shooed over various sports equipment some hated so much by me during school time.

When she then drinks from the water jug, she discovers the newt inside and immediately accuses the first child she lays eyes on stretching his ears (so funnily done with artificial ears).

Matilda stands up and tells Miss Trunchbull off for being such a bully. Trunchbull goes into a tirade of abuse and insults against Matilda, but Matilda retreats in her mind to where everything is "Quiet" and discovers she has the ability to move objects with her mind.

With her newfound ability, she tips over the water jug, soaking Miss Trunchbull in water and newt and Miss Trunchbull runs away. “That was interesting” comments Miss Honey. Matilda then demonstrates her powers to Miss Honey. Taken aback, the teacher invites Matilda to her house for a cup of tea.

Matilda tries to understand where her powers are coming from and she finally confides in an adult about her horrible parents.

Miss Honey's house turns out to be nothing more than an old farm shed.

“Are you poor?” Matilda asks “Yes, yes I am. Very.” “Don’t they pay teachers very much?” (which got very big laughs as there was a massive strike of public servants including teachers on that day I saw the show) “They don’t actually but I am even poorer than most for other reasons” and she tells Matilda how she found the shed and of her family, how she was forced to live in poverty by her cruel and mean aunt who as her legal guard looked after her as a child when her parents (her father being called Magnus) died. When Miss Honey got her first job as a teacher, the aunt produced a bill for looking after her, as every food item Miss Honey ever had as a child, as well as any other expenses as electricity, and forced Miss Honey to sign a contract to pay it all back. She also came up with a document saying that the house they were living in was the aunt’s one. Matilda wonders then whether it was actually the aunt who killed Magnus. But despite all the misery Miss Honey still manages to find happiness and beauty in this place as it is “My House”. Matilda then realises who the aunt is: Miss Trunchbull and that the story she told to Mrs Phelps is a true one – the story of Miss Honey’s parents.

Back at the school Miss Trunchbull forces the children to participate in a spelling test. Anyone who fails to spell one single word properly is sent to chokey – (not?) surprisingly the kids get all the words right until Miss Trunchbull starts to come up with made up words. Lavender is picked for that and of course fails. She is then to be taken to chokey and the other kids stand up and spell very easy words wrong on purpose to be put into chokey too. Suddenly the whole classroom turns into one big chokey with green laser lights etc. “I have been busy” Miss Trunchbull confesses. Matilda then uses her powers to make a piece of chalk write on the blackboard “Agatha, this is Magnus. Give my Jenny back her house. Then leave or I will get you like you got me. Run, run, run....” With Miss Trunchbull having to believe that it is the ghost of Magnus she runs away and the children celebrate her freedom rather anarchically. ("Revolting Children") and the audience in the rows close to the stage is covered in yellow confetti all over.

Mrs Phelps tells then that a few days later Miss Honey receives a letter from a solicitor telling her that she got the house back and moves right back in. Miss Honey also becomes the new head teacher with the school becoming the best school.

Miss Honey really wants to help Matilda to give this whole a happy end but she and Mrs Phelps are afraid there is none – till the Wormwood family appear out of the blue being on the run as Mr Wormwood sold the cars not to some common Russians but to the Russian mafia. Miss Honey asks them to let Matilda stay with her but Mr Wormwood has no time to answer as suddenly the Russians appear. The boss is rather impressed by Matilda who can even speak Russian which she learnt from reading Dostoyevsky books in the language they written in, and how lucky his father can be to have such a smart daughter. Her father is then convinced (or more forced to save himself) to leave Matilda with Miss Honey being finally allowed to live in happiness.

So what did I think of the show... To be read in the next post.