Edinburgh local Lexi Belle Sheppard may only be 13, but she’s making waves already with her recent role in Matilda the musical movie.
The movie knocked Black Panther Wakanda off the top of the box office on opening weekend. The musical movie stars Emma Thompson as Miss Trunchbull and Stephen Graham as Mr Wormwood.
The all singing, all dancing and acting teenager talked to Edinburgh Live about her time on Matilda the Musical and what’s next in store for her.
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“I really want to perform on stage in the West End when I'm older - that’s the dream. Musical theatre just wows me, I go to London most weekends with my family, and I don’t know how many shows we’ve seen.
"The past weekend I went to see Mary Poppins and that was incredible so magical. I always try, if they have them, to get the scripts of the shows I've just seen and I read them morning and night.”
Lexi started dancing at two years old, but all she did was cry. Fast forward a few years later and dancing was all she could do, so her mum Kelly decided to try her again with the dancing classes, and they’ve never looked back.
The multi-talented teen does many types of dancing with her starting out with tap, modern, ballet and highland. But she focuses now on ballet, modern, tap, musical theatre, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and commercial.
Her talent did not go unnoticed, Lexi was offered a place at the prestigious Tring Park school for the Performing arts. Boarding at the school Monday– Friday and either travelling back to Edinburgh at the weekend or going to London to spend time with her family and catch a show.
Her mum Kelly admits it is hard, “We are so proud of everything Lexi has achieved – especially for her age and the experiences she’s got to have, it’s amazing but it has all come through hard work, dedication and a major commitment from us as a family.
"We’ve had to make some sacrifices like spending time apart from each other. We could only do it with our amazing support system from our wider family. and it’s great we make these things happen and we make them work.”
Lexi is grateful for the place at Tring Park School, and the opportunities it has opened up for her including the role in Matilda. “Being offered a place at tring is literally unbelievable I still can’t believe it! I am on the performance foundation course which focuses on dancing but singing and acting too.
"Its’ a lot of stuff I have to focus on every single day, academics is also part of my day as well. So, it’s very full on. But I just have the best time and I learn so much from my teachers at school.”
Talking about her time as part of the child ensemble in the musical movie, “Being in Matilda was one of the best things ever, I will cherish it forever. The auditions were very intense, there were so many kids and staff. But it was so much fun.
The auditions, rehearsals, and filming were all during covid so Lexi’s experience of being in a movie was a bit more extreme than usual.
“We had to have special permission letters to travel. I also had to have at least three Covid tests a week, sometimes more and we had to wear masks and visors all the time unless we were filming, that got really hot.”
“But it was literally the best experience ever and I made so many friends and laughed every single day. And I got to dance every day which was amazing. Also, I can’t believe how the film actually turned out, it was so amazing.”
They filmed mostly at Shepperton studios which has been home to some of the world’s best loved films and tv productions including most recently Enola Homes 2 and Cruella.
Talking more of the filming, her favourite day was when the funfair came to set one day, “I was shocked! We got to go on the rides like 15-20 times which was very fun.”
The teen has more potential work in the pipeline: “I’d love to do more films, tv work and I’m so lucky to have had some exciting auditions recently too.”
Kelly says it is incredible for Lexi to be in Matilda the Musical. "Roald Dahl Is a complete genius, and Matilda was a book I loved when I was younger. My sister and I watched the film a lot, we thought it was really funny.”
Then when Lexi was younger, she started singing songs from the musical.
“Lexi got really into it and later that year I took her to see it. She had that amazement with the story and the musical since she was really young, so to then be in this film of the musical is just incredible. It’s a memory to cherish.”
But the incredible opportunity came at a cost. “We are so proud of everything Lexi has achieved – especially for her age and the experiences she’s got to have, it’s amazing.
To be part of Matilda you were to be based in London but with the family living in Edinburgh, they had to travel back and forward a lot.
Kelly says: “We were staying for the duration of filming for a week and then we would try and come home for a couple of days. Which is huge and it’s a lot, but we made it work. It’s sometimes difficult for kids in Scotland to get these kinds of opportunities.
"The local education authority licensing rules for children to work in the entertainment industry, they are actually different in Scotland than they are in England.”
She says the difference in licensing rules often means that Scottish kids can’t be part of English productions, or more challenging for them to be part.
“But it wouldn’t have happened without Lexi and her incredible work ethic, her passion for all things singing, dancing, musicals. She lives her life as a musical I think half the time and it’s amazing.”
Lexi has words for those looking to pursue a dream. "I’d just like to say for other kids with dreams just to follow them, and you know if you work hard, it pays off. Nothing is impossible, always remember that.”
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