by Steve Newman

Created on: January 11, 2011   Last Updated: January 12, 2011

Roald Dahl, like many writers of his generation, had been a spy, in his case working as an attaché at the British Embassy in Washington DC during WWII, which included spying on the Americans, ensuring they were not talking with Hitler behind Churchill's back. Consequently, he was well connected and met many another spy, including Ian Fleming, plus many writers, not least of which Ernest Hemingway and his then wife, Martha Gellhorn, a writer Dahl much preferred to her more famous husband. Working in Washington within the secret community also left Dahl with an extremely anarchic and somewhat cynical attitude toward authority, which was to manifest itself strongly in his later writings, not least his short stories and children's novels.

Dahl's 1988 novel, Matilda, is no exception, with Tim Minchin's and Dennis Kelly's musical adaptation for the RSC, Matilda: A Musical – directed with gusto and imagination by Mathew Warchus - an absolute joy of an anarchic romp from start to finish, and one of the best things I've seen at the Courtyard Theatre this year; it's also the best RSC Christmas show since Merry Wives The Musical back in 2006.

 Dennis Kelly has effectively taken the novel and stripped it back to its anarchic spine, then carefully layered it with set-pieces that drive the show forward with huge energy and humour that never lets up for a second, often leaving the audience agog at what is going on, not least the kids who simply never stop smiling. Couple this with Tim Minchin's music and songs (which, if nothing else, sounds like Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber after a session with Pink Floyd) and you have a show that could just about rival Les Misérables in the popularity stakes.

To do that you need a stellar cast, and this show has such a cast, especially Josie Walker's Mrs Wormwood, and Paul Kaye's Mr Wormwood, who are a truly hilarious pantomime double act that you just have to boo and delight in.

When we saw the show the part of Matilda was played by Kerry Ingram (there are three children playing the part on alternate days), whose professionalism and singing ability was extraordinary for one so small. She could teach a good many mature RSC actors a thing or two about delivering a line, sung or spoken.

The set-pieces in the schoolroom are also wonderfully choreographed by Ellen Kane which, when it's time for a song, become spectacular air guitar rock routines, which, when we saw the show was led by the brilliant James Beesley as Bruce – great stuff.

For me the star of the show was Bertie Carvel's Miss Trunchbull, who was gloriously grotesque as the hammer throwing headmistress. It was a characterisation that both scarred and delighted in equal measure ( a cross between the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Alistair Sim's headmistress from St Trinians) creating a superb piece of theatre that will live long in my memory and one I shall try and get back to see – quite astounding and one Roald Dahl would have loved I'm sure.

 No one puts a foot wrong in this show.

Learn more about this author, Steve Newman.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.