Sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty...

Lying in my bed after having laboriously unpacked my two crammed suitcases into my uni room, I am missing inter-semester break already.

Whilst many adventures took place during the holiday after exams, one particular highlight was seeing Matilda in the West End in London. Each day, the Cambridge Theatre release 16 £5 tickets per performance for 16 to 25 year olds at 10am. Knowing there would be other students queueing for this brilliant deal, we woke up at 6.30am, got the tube into central London and were queueing outside the box office by 8am. The 2 hours before ticket release were spent doing killer sudokus and making multiple coffee runs.

The production was fantastic and it got me thinking about growing up. Roald Dahl's children's books played a huge part in my childhood. The BFG, George's Marvellous Medicine and Matilda were my favourites. It struck me that a recurring theme throughout Dahl's stories is the triumph of children over adults. As a child who disliked authority, this concept appealed to me greatly. Matilda in particular is a wonderful example of how a strong-willed child motivates herself enough to gain revenge against Miss Trunchball for her and her classmates.

Roald Dahl's belief in ill-treated children scheming against their personal injustices, combined with the musical and lyrical talent of the genius that is Tim Minchin makes a perfect matrimony of mischief, wit and victory. I was blown away by the music of the production. Tim Minchin was truly made to write the soundtrack.

The theatre production begins by gloriously portraying the arrogance of parents in their admiration for their children. The lyric "my mummy says I'm a miracle" brilliantly showcases how excessive pride and blind love can cause parents to believe that their ghastly children are gifts from heaven. The contrast of this with the sad story of Matilda's neglect creates a wonderful opportunity for uprising and vengeance.

In the song "Naughty", Matilda begins plotting against her father. I love the idea that Matilda doesn't settle for helplessness and resignation in her situation. "Even if you take it on the chin and wear it, you might as well be saying, you think that it's okay. And that's not right". 

So often children are victims in their stories, and they don't believe they can alter the ending, and Matilda is a brilliant example of how this is not true in the slightest. I suppose it's not just children that are victims either. 

To an extent we are all victims of society and its norms. Go to school, get good grades, get into university, get a job, get married, have kids, have grand kids, have grand grand kits etc etc etc. But there is really nothing that dictates this is the road we have to take. Perhaps if we are to triumph over society's boring and narrow journeys set out for us, we have to dare to be a little bit "naughty". Go against the grain, do something different. 

If you only do what most people do, you'll achieve what most people achieve.

(Inspirational, right?)

Right, i'm off to go to a lecture.... so that I can graduate, and get a good job, and get married, and have kids, and have grand kids and..... you get the idea... oh the irony