Matilda The Musical at Bristol Hippodrome Review

Matilda The Musical at Bristol Hippodrome Review is written by our resident blogger Love For Bristol. She went to see Matilda The Musical at Bristol Hippodrome and wanted to let you all know how great it was! Take a look at her thoughts below.

I always love visiting the Hippodrome, the 1912 building is iconic to Bristol with sensational shows entertaining audiences throughout the years from Cats to Phantom of the Opera. I was delighted to be invited to watch Matilda The Musical, I absolutely loved the book by Roald Dahl and I used to watch the 1996 American film all the time as a kid.

Matilda The Musical, the story of an extraordinary little girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny. From The Royal Shakespeare Company written by Dennis Kelly with Tim Minchin composing the original songs, Matilda has won over 85 international awards and has been seen by 8.7 million people worldwide!

Heading to the Hippodrome on Tuesday evening I was advised where my seat was by a friendly steward, I was sat in the stalls section in row S. The view from this seat was fantastic, I sometimes have a problem viewing events and shows because of my height, but this was no problem at all! I noticed immediately how impressive the stage setting was, with colourful blocks and books shelves, setting the tone of the show.

Act 1 begins with a bang instantly wowing the audience with a catchy opening song and brilliant choreography. The set is used cleverly with impressive changes and effects. Matilda's family are comically lowbrow with hilarious dialogue from both mum and dad, with classic scenes of Matilda playfully getting her revenge on her Dad that film fans would certainly enjoy. The cast, especially the young actors all have massive talent, the energy and liveliness of the performance created a wonderful viewing experience.

The stars of the show, in my opinion, were Elliott Harper as Miss Trunchball and the young actress who played Matilda, (this is a shared role by five young actresses). Miss Trunchball is the cruel headmistress who makes life for Matilda and her pupils at school terrifying. Elliott's flamboyant expressions and fierce demeanour add both a comic yet scary effect on stage. The hilarious yet highly inappropriate action of Miss Trunchball swinging a young girl by her pigtails heightens the tension with an astonishing stage technique that will you have you wondering how they did it. The young actress who played Matilda was clear and confident with a beautiful singing voice. I particularly enjoyed the story told by Matilda to her Librarian in different sections throughout the musical, later this connects us to Miss Honey, Matilda's lovely school teacher. This allows us to connect to both Matilda and Miss Honey on a much deeper level, enhancing the feel-good factor at the end when they are brought together. 

A standing ovation was given by the audience at the end, this delightful musical is a heart-warming tale that will guarantee to put a smile on your face. 

Matilda The Musical is on at the Bristol Hippodrome until 8th June, catch it while you can! You can get your tickets here.

Review written by Love for Bristol May 2019.