Flintshire school’s stunning production of Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda The Musical’ receives rave reviews

A high school’s production of Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda The Musical’ has received glowing reviews on social media after nine sell out performances.

A cast of more than 60 Argoed High School students from years 7 through to 11 delivered the spectacular musical show to packed audiences, totalling over 600 people during its five day run including 200 pupils from local primary schools.  

An extra Saturday show was put on after all the tickets sold out in under 12 hours of being released.

The talented students and behind the scenes support staff had been rehearsing after school since January and are delighted with the response to the show.

On the school’s Facebook page, praise flooded in, including from:  Jacqui Barnes: “Wow, what a show, it was fantastic! Well done all! A great evening…..you’ve all worked so hard,” Leah Kirkham: “Well done to all involved. We bought tickets after coming to the recent open evening.  My son and I both thoroughly enjoyed the performance,” and Wyn Leslie: “What an evening!  The show was so entertaining and very professional.  Absolutely superb.  What a lot of hard work but my word what an achievement.  Many congratulations to you all.”

Claire Homard, Chief Officer for Education, attended one of the performances.  She said: “It was an absolute delight watching the Argoed’s performance of Matilda last night. What a talented group of young people you have!  The show was superb, so massive congratulations to all the cast and to the staff who have obviously worked so hard to pull it all together.”

Matilda is the story of an extraordinary little girl with extraordinary powers. The daughter of abusive parents, Matilda finds refuge in library books and in creating her own stories. Things are no better at school, where Matilda faces a tyrannical and cruel headmistress, Miss Trunchbull.  She finds companionship in her teacher, Miss Honey, who, though well-intentioned, is shy and fragile. Brave little Matilda knows she has to stand up against the adults in her world, and in doing so, discovers her own remarkable powers. 

Stephanie Pritchard, head of expressive arts, directed and choreographed the production.  She said: “The students were an absolute delight to work with and anything but ‘revolting’! Their dedication and enthusiasm have made this show such a success. They had a fire within them to make sure they made up for the loss of extra-curricular during COVID and that could be seen on stage. They are all an asset to Argoed and I will miss having them in the studio for over 6 hours a week! 

“We are very much looking forward to the ‘pizza party’ and cast cinema trip to watch the new Matilda the Musical film. Most importantly, I am looking forward to seeing these amazing, funny, and talented pupils grow into the most wonderful adults. Argoed is a small school but after this show they now know that you “Shouldn’t let a little thing like little stop you, even if you’re little you can do a lot!

“We would like to thank the staff for their help on the evenings of the show, and behind the scenes, and all our sponsors.  Of course, we could not put this show on without the support and encouragement from parents and carers, so thank you for supporting the Arts and allowing your child to make these memories at school.”

Due to the number of talented students at the school, Mrs Pritchard double-casted so the cast changed each night, challenging the students to learn more than one role.   

The title role of Matilda was performed by Ella Ford, Alice Edwards and Leila Pugh-Insley, while the nasty Miss Trunchbull was played by Elliot Evans and Sol Cheshire.  Amy Laird and Lily Middleton played Miss Honey, Anna Rainsford played Mr Wormwood, and Eva O’Reilly and Holly Bell-Scaife took turns to play Mrs Wormwood. 

Mrs Phelps was performed by Catrin Page and Nina Duckworth, Ethan Topley played ‘Bruce’, Tom Wilson was the Escapologist, and talented gymnast, Zara Evans-Mcveigh, and dancer, Chloe Birt, were the Acrobats.  

Staff members Annette Elliot and Maxine Robbers played a key role as backstage managers, and students Kade Fletcher and Harry Topley worked on lighting, props, and the smoke machine for the chokey.

 Paul Smith, headteacher, said: “I am so proud of the whole Matilda cast for a run of fantastic sell out performances, they entertained the whole school, local community, and my own family.  Mrs Pritchard and the entire team worked exceptionally hard and, together with the students, they embodied our school motto: Learning together, Working together, Succeeding together.  We received wonderful feedback from everyone who came to see the show. They are an asset to the school, and I can’t wait to see our next performance.”