On being Matilda
To play Matilda in a new, musical production of Roald Dahl’s famous book – with the RSC in Stratford! What a dream for a 10 year old girl. Fresh from three months in the role, Josie Griffiths has recovered quickly from the demands of being on stage pretty much non-stop for 2 ½ hours. I found her busily clearing up after her Art lesson, enjoying etching and ink smudges, happy to return to ‘normal’ school after the ghastly Miss Trunchbull’s Crunchem Hall.
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| From the action-packed programme you get a glimpse of the energy of this production directed by Matthew Warchus. Full of innovation, excellent characterisation and witty design, it is truthful to the eccentricity of the writing and has a life of its own, from the opening notes of "My Mummy says I’m a miracle" right through to the finale ‘Revolting Children’! |
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Josie loved every part of it, except saying goodbye to her new friends. On reflection, she’s decided her best moment in rehearsal was learning the Bruce Bogtrotter cake song and dance routine which she thought was "wonderful!" She thinks the best sequence in the performance was the choreography for the song ‘Naughty’ and for the hilarious number ‘Loud’, featuring Mrs Wormwood and flamboyant Rudolpho.
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| Josie’s whole performance was remarkable - a tour de force - especially her directness and confident delivery. She was, quite naturally, Matilda, no frills! A spot-on interpretation that needed little direction. Well done Josie! There’s another JAGS connection too – alumna Lily Arnold (year of 2003) is an RSC trainee designer who worked on the set for the show, with its brilliant surprises. |
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| To read an interview with Josie in role as Matilda, click here. |
