Review: Brilliant Matilda gets 'a little bit naughty' at Milton Keynes Theatre

The internationally renowned show continues to play to packed houses in the West End at the Cambridge Theatre and has been seen by 12 million people across 100 cities around the world.

Stopping off on its UK tour in Milton Keynes, Matilda will delight all ages – but given it’s currently half-term week it was little surprise there were a lot of ‘revolting’ children in the audience for Thursday’s press night.

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production draws you in from the very start with the magnificent set of jumbled letters and books enabling Roald Dahl’s beloved source material to come alive before our eyes.

And it’s packed with all sorts of silliness, whether it be a massive burp from a child who has been scoffing too much chocolate cake, or Matilda’s mum absurdly not realising she’s nine months pregnant despite having a football-shaped like stomach!

Matilda’s horrible parents – the Wormwoods – played by Adam Stafford and Rebecca Thornhill were brilliantly nasty and totally unappreciative of how utterly clever their daughter is. "That’s not normal,” they sneer, when their five-year-old bookworm picks up a new piece of literature.

Their attitude gets to Matilda who realises ‘Sometimes You Have To Be A Little Bit Naughty’ and she gets her own back with the help of a hair dye mix-up and some superglue sabotage.

The title role is being shared between four young actors during the tour and last night it was Mollie Hutton’s time to shine.

She was, quite frankly, remarkable. Her singing was spot on (especially considering the lyrics have to be rattled out at 100mph at times), and her acting first class. There were poignant scenes due to Matilda’s struggles in life, but also lots of humour and also a determination to fight back and challenge the rule of law imposed by tryant headteacher Mrs Trunchbull.

Richard Hurst shone as the school dictator – whose motto was “children are maggots”. The head’s office was like an evil henchman’s lair, full of surveillance screens keeping close scrutiny of the school grounds. It was also packed with trophies, from her hammer-throwing triumphs on the athletics field. Mrs Trunchbull loves physical education, which results in a fabulous scene involving her students and a vaulting horse.

Nervous teacher Miss Honey, who realises Matilda’s talent and wants her to fulfill her potential was played by Tessa Kadler – another cast member with an excellent voice. “My House" a ballad about her simple life and home was extremely well done.

Despite individuals shining, this was very much a team effort. All the child actors were impressive, and the adults playing schoolchildren added an extra layer to the magic and mischief.

This was pretty much flawless entertainment, packed with humour, clever moments and perfect pacing which kept even the youngest members of the audience fully engaged throughout.

Matilda The Musical is at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday, November 14. See ATGTICKETS.COM/MiltonKeynes