After the show, I always try to speak to members of the society to find out more about the cast and crew of each production, and when I asked where Congress had hired the set from, I was shocked to discover that this set had been designed and built by members of the society. Hannah Collins created a masterpiece, and her vison came to life with the help of an army of society members. Lindsay Collins, Steve Brady, Scott Maxwell, Andrew Welsby and Chris Amis; all of whom deserve recognition for this fabulous set. Leading this young cast as the title character, Matilda was Millie Carter. From the offset Millie showed great enthusiasm and was not fazed by the tackling this iconic role. Her vocals were full of character, and she certainly knew how to work an audience. We were rooting for her from the get go. Sadie Samways was cast as the loveable Miss Honey: her relationship with Matilda, and the rest of her students, was something to behold, and when she sang her first solo, “This Little Girl”, you could hear a pin drop in the audience. For such a young actress to be able to capture the hearts of such a large audience is amazing. From Miss Honey, we move to the other end of the spectrum. Matilda’s parents, Mr and Mrs Wormwood, who despised books and learning. Taking on this over-the-top twosome was Oliver Machalinski and Tyler Booth. The outrageous costumes and humongous characters made it hard for you not to love this couple, even when you know you are supposed to dislike them for their mistreatment of their daughter. Opening Act one Oliver had the difficult task of warming the audience up to get them focused back on the story. Many adult performers struggle with such a task, but Oliver took all this in his stride, even
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