What a show!

Well done Gungahlin College Theatre Company!

Earlier this year I was fortunate to be invited to run a vocal workshop for students from the Musical and Stage Performance class at Gungahlin College.

They were an impressive group!

The students and teachers were keen to participate in the vocal warm-ups and exercises, despite being out in the cold. Outdoors was the best place to be, considering the possibilities of the dreaded COVID lurking around the corners and indoor spaces!

I recall feeling excited for the students. They were embarking on this amazing journey and staging a Tony Award-winning show!

For those who don’t know, Matilda The Musical is the multi-award winning musical from the Royal Shakespeare Company, inspired by the beloved book by Roald Dahl. The stage show was written by Dennis Kelly, and the original songs by Tim Minchin.

I had the privilege of attending the last Saturday performance of Matilda the musical at the Gungahlin College Theatre. I went along with a couple of friends, who thoroughly enjoyed the show.

The performance was beyond our expectations! The professionalism and talent of all those involved was apparent.

The major players embodied their characters, especially Jaz White, who played Matilda. She could have come directly from a performance at London’s Royal Shakespeare Company! I was impressed by Jaz’s natural singing ability and how she handled the complex songs with such ease! I especially loved those scenes in the library with Mrs Phelps, played by lovely Alisha Singh. Kudos to the stage design here – and those brightly painted book shelves!

Joshua Harvett, did an awesome job at portraying the fun, yet scary Principal Trunchball.

Rylee Bussencshutt played the perfect Miss Honey with such a gorgeous legit singing voice. I could imagine her playing Cinderella in “Into The Woods”.

As for Matilda’s horribly selfish family, the Wormwoods, the performances were true to character.

Mr Wormwood performed by Andrew Hird, was terrific. He evoked the slapstick comedians of time past such as; Laurel and Hardy, and The Three Stooges.

Imogen Starr-Lawrence, as Mrs Wormwood, took me back to an old-time favourite “Strictly Ballroom”, with her delightful dancing and fun sparkly costume and permed blond wig.

Last but not least, Makayla McIntyre, truly embodied the perfect teenage boy as Michael Wormwood, the favourite Wormwood child.

I would also like to give credit to the strong ensemble performance – there were a number of  talented singers and actors, who played minor characters.

I look forward to seeing some of these young performers from Gungahlin College Theatre in future Canberra or national and international shows!

Best of luck everyone for the future, it’s looking oh so bright!