over television and make-up. Alone outside the Wormwood household, Miss Honey is desperate to help Matilda. Matilda tells Mrs. Phelps more about the Acrobat and the Escapologist. The performance of their new feat has been arranged by the Acrobat's sister, a former world champion hammer-thrower who loves to scare small children. Just before their act begins the Escapologist announces that the performance will be cancelled as the Acrobat is pregnant. The crowd is thrilled, but the Acrobat's sister is furious at the prospect of refunding the crowd's money and produces a contract that the Acrobat and Escapologist have signed binding them to performing the act or else spending the rest of their lives in jail. At school, Bruce Bogtrotter, a boy in Matilda's class, has stolen a slice of Miss Trunchbull's personal chocolate cake. When she discovers this, she decides to punish Bruce by forcing him to eat an entire cake all by himself in front of the class, who bravely support him. After Bruce has finished the cake, the class celebrates his success but Miss Trunchbull drags Bruce away for the second part of his punishment: Chokey. Act Two During the interval, Mr. Wormwood appears with a disclaimer, apologising for the show's rampant support for reading and warns children that if they do read they will go blind, become smelly and get verrucas (of the mind). He then introduces what he considers to be "the pinnacle of man's success and the reason we evolved out of unicorns in the first place": television. After the 'Entr'acte,' the children sing about their future, Miss Honey laments and Matilda resolves to put an end to Miss Trunchbull's cruelty. Lavender, a girl in Matilda's class, confides in the audience that, after being given the job of preparing Miss Trunchbull's jug of water, she found a newt and put it in the jug. Matilda tells Mrs. Phelps more about the Acrobat and the Escapologist. Bound to their contract they perform the feat and all seems to go well until the last moment when the Acrobat slips and falls to the ground breaking every bone in her body; she lives just long enough to give birth to a beautiful baby girl. The Acrobat's sister soon moves into the house with the Escapologist and his daughter. She is incredibly cruel to the little girl, forcing her to do menial tasks and frequently abusing her verbally and physically, but the Escapologist is too saddened by his wife's death to notice. Mr. Wormwood returns home from work delighted that he has been able to sell the worn-down cars to the wealthy Russians after all after hitting on a plan to use an automatic drill to wind back the odometers on the cars, seemingly reducing the mileage. Matilda is annoyed at her father's flagrant deceit and tells him off for it. This angers Mr. Wormwood and he verbally abuses Matilda before locking her in her bedroom. That night Matilda continues the story of the Acrobat and the Escapologist on her own. After years of cruelty the Acrobat's sister's fits of rage have grown to the point that, one night, she beats the Escapologist's daughter, tells her she is a "worthless maggot" and locks her in the basement. However that evening the Escapologist returns home early and hears his daughter crying in the basement. He breaks down the door and discovers the extent of the Acrobat's Sister's cruelty. As he comforts his daughter he promises her he will always be there for her from now on, as his wife had made him promise on her deathbed. Filled with a sudden rage, he runs out into the night to find the Acrobat's sister, but is never seen again. The next day, Miss Trunchbull forces Miss Honey's class to participate in a grueling physical education lesson. When she goes to drink from her water jug, she discovers the newt inside and immediately accuses the first child she lays eyes on. Matilda stands up and tells Miss Trunchbull off for being a bully. Trunchbull launches into a tirade of abuse against Matilda, but Matilda retreats in her mind to a place where everything is 'Quiet' and discovers she has the ability to move objects with her mind. With her newfound ability, she tips over the Trunchbull's water jug, soaking her in water and newt. Later on, Matilda demonstrates her powers to Miss Honey. Taken aback, Miss Honey invites Matilda back to her house for a cup of tea and a conversation. Miss Honey's house turns out to be nothing more than an old farm shed. Matilda discovers that Miss Honey has been forced to live in abject poverty by her cruel and abusive aunt, who looked after her as a child when her parents died. When Miss Honey first got her job as a teacher, the aunt produced a bill of every meal and drink Miss Honey had ever had as a child, as well as any other conceivable expense, and forced Miss
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