West End Wednesday: MATILDA THE MUSICAL
Matilda is a 2010 musical based on the 1988 book of the same name by Roald Dahl. It tells of a 5-year-old girl who is hyper intelligent and uses her kindness and gifts to help the important people in her life overcome their obstacles, whilst also taking down her tyrannical headteacher. The musical has a score by Tim Minchin, with a book by Dennis Kelly and orchestrations and music supervision by Chris Nightingale.
The Royal Shakespeare Company announced their intention to adapt Matilda into a musical in 2009, assigning Mathew Warchus as director, alongside Peter Darling as choreographer, Rob Howell as set designer and Paul Kieve as illusionist and special effects creator. The production opened at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon in December 2010. The cast included Bertie Carvel as Miss Trunchball, Paul Kaye and Josie Walker as Mr and Mrs Wormwood, and Lauren Ward as Miss Honey. Adrianna Bertola, Josie Griffiths and Kerry Ingram all rotated the titular role. The show opened to rave reviews and sold-out audiences, ending its run on 30 January 2011.
It opened in London’s West End for previews on 18 October 2011 at the Cambridge Theatre. The majority of the adult Stratford cast reprised their roles, with Kerry Ingram being the only Matilda to return. She was joined by Eleanor Worthington Cox, Cleo Demetriou and Sophia Kiely. The production opened to unanimously positive reviews. Matilda was nominated for a huge ten Oliviers, winning seven in total, making it the most awarded production in the awards’ history at that time with both Carvel and all the Matildas winning in the acting category. Matilda has continued to play to packed houses since opening and is again since reopening after the pandemic closure.
In 2012, the RSC announced that they were transferring the show to Broadway to open in 2013, with confirmation that the show would still be set in England. The production began previews at the Shubert Theatre on 4 March 2013. Carvel and Ward both reprised their roles from the London production with Sophie Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryan and Milly Shapiro alternating the titular role. The musical received rave reviews and was nominated for twelve TONY awards, winning four, and a special award for the actresses playing Matilda. The Broadway production closed on New Years Day 2017 after 1,555 performances. A US National Tour ran from 2015-2017.
The musical toured the UK for the first time in 2017 starting at the Leicester Curve Theatre. Craige Els starred as Miss Trunchball, with Carly Thoms as Miss Honey and Sebastien Torkia and Rebecca Thornhill as Mr and Mrs Wormwood respectively. The musical received its Australian premiere in Sydney in 2015, before doing seasons in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland.
The musical has also been produced in Korea, the Philippines, and an international tour that included South Africa, China and Singapore.
As early as 2013, Minchin reported that a film adaptation of the musical was in gestation. Matthew Warchus is set to direct the screenplay by original book writer Kelly that includes new songs by Minchin. In January 2021, it was announced that Emma Thompson would star as Miss Trunchball, Lashana Lynch as Miss Honey and Alisha Weir as Matilda, with Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough as Mr and Mrs Wormwood. The film is to be choreographed by Ellen Kane who was Peter Darling’s assistant on the original production. Principle photography began on 3 May 2021. The current release date for the film is 2 December 2022.
Besties, I cannot believe for a second that any of you haven’t listened to this iconic score.
Cast recordings available on streaming services.
FACTS:
Music: Tim Minchin
Lyrics: Tim Minchin
Book: Dennis Kelly
Theatre: The Cambridge Theatre
Run: 18 October 2011 – Present.
TONYS:
(NOMINATED) Best Musical, Best Original Score – Tim Minchin, Best Actor in a Musical – Bertie Carvel, Best Featured Actress in a Musical – Lauren Ward, Best Direction of a Musical – Matthew Warchus, Best Choreography, Peter Darling, Best Orchestration – Chris Nightingale, Best Costume Design of a Musical – Rob Howell
(WON) Best Lighting Design of a Musical – Hugh Vanstone, Best Scenic Design of a Musical – Rob Howell, Best Featured Actor in a Musical – Gabriel Ebert, Best Book of a Musical – Dennis Kelly, Tony Honours for Excellence in Theatre – Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryan and Milly Shapiro.
OLIVIERS:
(NOMINATED) Best Supporting Performance in a Musical - Paul Kaye, Best Costume Design – Rob Howell, Best Lighting Design – Hugh Vanstone.
(WON) Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical – Bertie Carvel, Best Actress in a Musical – Cleo Demetriou, Kerry Ingram, Eleanor Worthington Cox, Sophia Kiely, Best Director – Matthew Warchus, Best Theatre Choreographer – Peter Darling, Best Set Design – Rob Howell, Best Sound Design – Simon Baker.
