HAVING never seen StagedRight Juniors in action, I was a little sceptical that a group of primary school children could pull off a musical on the scale of Matilda.

It is, after all, a major success in London, Broadway and soon to be a film.

For those who have never seen the show or even read the books, Matilda is a sweet and very intelligent girl living with a very dysfunctional family.

She is misunderstood by everyone except her teacher, Miss Honey, and Mrs Phelps, the local librarian.

Matilda has great powers, excellent use of language and escapes the world around her by telling stories to anyone who will listen.

StagedRight’s intimate theatre within Shaddonmill was my first surprise as I didn’t even know it existed. This delightful little venue ensured that we could see and hear everything.

A few of the main characters were sharing roles. I saw Ashley Carruthers as Matilda and she was out of this world. This little girl had it all; she could dance, act and has a stunning voice.

Maddie Nixon played the nasty Miss Trunchbull with great enthusiasm and commanded the stage on every entrance whilst Emmy Livingstone brought the ‘wet’ character of Miss Honey to life.

The boys were certainly not to be outdone and special credit must go to Harvey Bill as the chocolate-guzzling Bruce and the adorable Harry Robinson as Rudolpho the dance teacher.

The cast of around 40 children were terrific and the sound they made in very complex musical numbers, fantastic choreography and what must have been pages and pages of dialogue to learn, was a credit to those who work with them.

These youngsters obviously loved every second of the show and so did the audience.

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