Danebank wishes to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Land, the Bidjigal People of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. Danebank also recognises First Nations People as the first storytellers and performers in Australia.
Rebellion is nigh in Matilda JR., a gleefully witty ode to the anarchy of childhood and the power of imagination! This story of a girl who dreams of a better life and the children she inspires will have audiences rooting for the “revolting children” who are out to teach the grown-ups a lesson.
Matilda has astonishing wit, intelligence... and special powers! She’s unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the highly loveable Miss Honey. Matilda’s school life isn’t completely Smooth sailing, however. The school’s mean Headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, hates children and loves thinking up new punishments for those who don’t abide by her rules. But Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and could be the school pupils’ saving grace!
Packed with high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs, Matilda Jr. is a joyous girl power romp. Children and adults alike will be thrilled and delighted by the story of the special little girl with an extraordinary imagination.
“I love musicals because you can express your feelings not only by words but also by actions and dancing. Although I might be a bit of an introvert, musicals can push me outside of my comfort zone and let me experience a new activity. In my opinion, musicals aren’t just about the leads, it’s about working together and creating a masterpiece with everyone’s effort put into it. I love being in the musical and I hope I can do it again.”
Working on Matilda Jr. at Danebank has been an exciting and rewarding opportunity for all. We have been privileged to work alongside talented and enthusiastic students who have accepted every challenge in the making of the show. From a directorial perspective, the cast brought such energy and heart to every rehearsal, and hearing them grow more confident and polished with each number and each rehearsal was a total delight. It was also wonderful to see students contributing their ideas to develop characters and use their initiative to enhance the direction, singing and choreography in rehearsals. We were very lucky to have professional musical performer, Des Flannagan (‘Cats,’ ‘Moulin Rouge,’ ‘The Producers,’ West Side Story,’ ‘The Beautiful Game,’ ‘One Day in September.’), join us for a masterclass in the rehearsal process to work with our cast.
Our musical band saw talented student musicians collaborate with industry professionals to learn 51 different musical items, this is about 10x more musical repertoire than any other Danebank ensemble completes within a year, so it is an amazing achievement and area of so much growth for our talented student instrumentalists. We are also so lucky to be supported by an amazing team of executive and teaching and operational staff at Danebank, many of whom stepped out of their usual roles to create costumes, sell tickets, operate candy stores, run backstage crews, build sets and be there to support our girls on the night. This process has taught all involved the importance of collaboration and teamwork and we could not be more proud of our students and our show. It is a true team triumph!
Miss Georgia Andreacchio, Miss Lucy Cantrill, Mrs Rachel Kennedy, Ms Emily Maguire
Miracle - Little Kids, Mums, Dads, Matilda
Naughty - Matilda
Acrobat Story - Matilda, Acrobat, Escapologist
School Song - Little Kids, Big Kids, Matilda
The Hammer - Miss Trunchbull, Miss Honey, Matilda, Little Kids, Big Kids
Naughty Superglue (Part 2).. - Matilda
The Chokey Chant - Big Kids, Little Kids, Matilda
This Little Girl - Miss Honey
Bruce (Part 1).. - Big Kids, Little Kids, Miss Trunchbull, Miss Honey, Matilda
When I Grow Up - Ensemble, Big Kids, Little Kids, Miss Honey, Matilda
The Smell of Rebellion - Ensemble, Miss Trunchbull, Big Kids, Little Kids, Matilda
Quiet - Matilda
Revolting Children - Ensemble, Matilda, Big Kids, Little Kids
Bows - All
“Being part of the Matilda cast was an absolute honour. Everyone is so kind and generous. Whenever I go to Matilda rehearsals it’s with a positive mindset ready to have some fun. The teachers are so sweet and helpful, I am so glad I am part of Matilda the musical.”
Musical masterclass with musical theatre performer, Des Flanagan. His theatre credits include: ‘Cats’ at Theatre Royal, Christian in ‘Moulin Rouge’ at the Capitol Theatre, Leo in ‘The Producers’ at The Hayes and Riverside Theatres, Handa Opera’s ‘West Side Story’ on Sydney Harbour, Thomas in ‘The Beautiful Game’, and Nathan in ‘One Day in September’ with Perryman Theatre Company.
Matilda Wormwood
Libby Burgess
Miss Agatha Trunchbull
Aleeya Waterhouse
Mrs Wormwood
Rose Bathgate
Mrs Phelps / Michael Wormwood
Rose Harrison
Miss Jennifer Honey
Sophie Agostino
Mr Wormwood
Iris Radford
Escapologist
Lara Wood
Acrobat
Isabel Jentschke
Bruce Bogtrotter
Yunshu Jiang
Lavender
Grace Moll
Nigel
Estelle Vaughan
Alice Nina Fitzsimmons
Eric Jocelyn Stanford
Amanda Remi Zhu
Hortensia
Stella Smith
Tommy Zara Willis
Angela Gu
Hannah Larkin
Charli El Daghl - Circus Performer
Breana Harris
Isabel Larkin
Emilia Casarano Mechanic
Evelena Fitzsimmons
Breanna Heaslip
Simra Mamdooh
Isabella Duncan
Sienna Gibb
Elke Holst -Jill
Sophia Montoya -Giraldo and Circus Performer
“ In Matilda, I had the joy of being in the little kids ensemble with 9 other students. This has given me a lot of experience and has been so much fun. Being a part of these amazing rehearsals has been so much fun with friends and other students and I hope to do this again in the years to come.”
Olivia Moodey
Charlotte Reid
Mikayla Tsanas
Amelia Wood
Anna Xue
Caterina Mussared
Lauren Shedden
Maya Turier
Lu La Nicholls
Nino Tang
Rudolpho
Angela Wang
Miriam Wood
Daniella Zanon
Serena Wu
Heidi Zhu
Grace Trewhella
Ruby Williams - Sergei
Aleisha Xu - Jack
“Being a part of the Matilda Cast is a truly magical experience. We build friendships and form unforgettable memories along the way. Being able to be in the spectacular Musical is a dream come true.”
“I’ve never performed in a musical before, but I adore it. I have loved being in the show and have met a lot of people. I am thrilled to be performing for everyone, and I am extremely happy that I joined since I would not have had this chance otherwise.”
“It’s been so incredible to be able to work with all these talented students and get to know them! It’s also so fun to learn all the songs for the musicals - there’s been a lot of laughs! Being part of the Matilda Cast has been an amazing opportunity.”
“One of my favourite parts has been working on revolting children. The song is so strong and fun to perform. I’m really excited and a bit nervous to get on stage and show everyone what we’ve been working so hard on.”
“Being part of the Matilda cast has not only helped me to grow in my acting, singing and dancing, but has helped to grow me as a person. I’ve met so many new people and discovered a new passion. “
“I absolutely loved being in the Matilda cast, being able to sing and dance with my friends make me more confident and comfortable to perform and sing.”
Produced by:
Production Team: Emily Maguire, Emma Korell, Jonathan Brennan
Theatrical Directors: Rachel Kennedy, Georgia Andreacchio
Musical Directors: Emily Maguire, Lucy Cantrill
Choreographers: Georgia Andreacchio, Sorelle Thomas
Audio Visual Technician: Jonathan Brennan
Lighting Design: LKR Lighting
Sound Design: Stolen Planet Sound
Stage Managers: Melody Karpenko, Olivia Robinson
Set Design: Alex Fitzpatrick, Anna McAfee, Alissa Sehovic, Georgiana Toomey, Eloise Williams, Yumi Mao, Toni Ma, Shirley Wang, Jennifer Li, Kayal Stockholm, Amy Cantrill, Lucy Cantrill, Georgia Andreacchio, Rachel Kennedy, Emma Korell, Emily Maguire, Jonathan Brennan, George Harb, John Stojanovski.
Rehearsal Facilitator and student support: Bianca Jervis
Costume Team: Bethany Schanzer, Kara Laidsaar, Patty Guthrie,Hannah McLaughlin.
Digital Scenery: Broadway Media
Photography: Elise Croucher, Jonathan Deer
Program, Poster, Marketing and Communications: Peter Versace, Danebank Office of Community Engagement Team
Conductor: Ms Emily Maguire
Keyboard 1: Mr Michael Kennett
Keyboard 2: Ms Taylor Yeung
Woodwind 1: Miss Emma Korell and Mr Jayden Haglay
Woodwind 2: Abigail Githens (Year 9), Mackenzie Winney (Year 11)
Clara Birrell (Year 11), Teija Hall (Year 12)
Trumpet 1: Mr Simon Ferenci
Trumpet 2: Rebecca Chee (Year 8)
Trombone: Mr Paul Rasmussen
Violin: Miss Lucy Dube
Cello: Miss Elizabeth Ring Bass: Mrs Sarah LaMarne
Guitar: Mr Simon Dawes (Electric, Acoustic, Spanish)
Drums and Percussion: Mr Gene White
Auxiliary Percussion: Antonia Baliva (Year 11), Gabriella Wang (Year 11), Doris Yu (Year 9), Christine Ma (Year 9)
Danebank Anglican School, The Office of Co-Curricular Performing
Stage Managers:
Ms Melody Karpenko (Danebank Alumnae)
Ms Olivia Robinson (Danebank Alumnae)
Student Crew:
Jennifer Li Year 12
Yumi Mao Year 9
Anna McAfee Year 9
Georgiana Toomey Year 9
Eloise Williams Year 9
Alex Fitzpatrick Year 8
Alissa Sehovic Year 8
Toni Ma Year 7
Shirley Wang Year 7
“Being in the Matilda Cast has been a stunning and enjoyable experience full of fun and learning. Through this experience, I have learnt all about performing and I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone when performing. While learning so many new things, I have built many new friendships along the way that I will cherish for years to come.“
Principal:
Dr Michele Benn, Dr Emma Burgess
Deputy Principals:
Tiina Hufton, Melinda Buckley
Finance Staff Team
Oskar Pecyna, Rachel He, Chris Pan
Community Engagement Team:
Ina Dorlfing, Tamara Hidayat, Julie Pacifique, Danielle Clegg, Catherine Buckley
Costume Team:
Bethany Schanzer, Kara Laidsaar, Patricia Gutherie, Hannah McLaughlin
Front of House:
Karla Wootton and the Year 11 Vet Business Services Class:
Charlotte Arthur, Josiane Baddour, Charlotte Blackett, Taskiya Gould, Charlotte Govier, Lin Huang, Alana Koukoutaris, Jessica Siveyer, Kaitlyn Yin, Chenyu Yu
Candy Store:
Kirrily Foley and the Ut Prosim Leaders
Tasty Treats:
Karla Wootton and the Year 11 Vet Hospitality Class: Sienna Betalli, Zoe Blake, Estelle Camilleri, Myriam Choker, Zoe Dereham, Eva Diamadis, Ashley Howell, Batoul Kassem, Jennifer Low
CAPA Team and Christian Studies Team: For unrelenting support!
Facilities Staff Team
George Harb, John Stojanovski, Sam Ibrahim
For continued support with the theatre, sets, props and so much more
Thank you to the Executive, The Creative and Performing Arts Staff and all the staff, students and community members who contributed throughout the rehearsal and performance process.
On behalf of the Performing Arts staff and production team, thank you for supporting our girls, and we hope you enjoy the show!
“Even if you’re little you can do a lot, you mustn’t let a little thing like little stop you”
