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Performance times are: Tue 19:00. Wed-Sat 19:30. Sun 15:00. Wed,Sat Mats 14:30
Synopsis In Matilda, the central character is a little girl with astonishing wit, intelligence and psychokinetic powers. She's unloved by her parents but impresses her schoolteacher and, over the course of her first term at school, teacher and pupil have a profound effect on each other's lives. Roald Dahl's much-loved story bursts into life on stage in this brand new musical version by Dennis Kelly and award-winning musician and comedian Tim Minchin. Children and adults alike will be thrilled and delighted by the story of the special little girl with an extraordinary imagination. Suitable for ages 6+.
Dates: Opens 25 November 2011. Tue 19:00. Wed-Sat 19:30. Sun 15:00. Wed,Sat Mats 14:30 10 June 2012 15:00 - Audio Described 13 June 2012 19:30 - Captioned 18 August 2012 14:30 - Captioned 18 August 2012 19:30 - Captioned 30 August 2012 19:30 - Audio Described 11 October 2012 19:30 - Audio Described 21 October 2012 15:00 - Captioned
The Royal Shakespeare Company's musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's Matilda, which has music and lyrics by Australian comic Tim Minchin and book by Dennis Kelly opened at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon last night (9 December 2010, previews from 9 November) to rave reviews.
The story of the little girl with astonishing wit, intelligence and psychokinetic powers is directed by Matthew Warchus, whose previous West End credits include the large-scale Lord of the Rings musical, and who embarks on another musical adaptation, Ghost the Musical.
Bertie Carvel plays the formidable head mistress Miss Trunchbull whilst Lauren Ward takes the role of teacher Miss Honey. They are joined in the cast by Paul Kaye and Josie Walker as Matilda's parents Mr and Mrs Wormwood as well as three teams of children in the younger roles. The production is designed by Rob Howell with choreography by Peter Darling.
Matilda continues its run at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Stratford home until 30 January 2011.
"It becomes obvious within the opening bars of Matilda that this is no ordinary family show .... What really makes this show jaw-droppingly good... is the fabulous script and score, the vibrantly created cast of characters, and Roald Dahl's story which is told through and by them. Tim Minchin's music and lyrics sparkle with wit and energy, demonstrating a touch of genius to rival that of the eponymous Matilda. Complemented by Dennis Kelly's book, they make up a piece which is by turns riotously funny and gut-wrenchingly poignant ... Kerry Ingram - one of three girls taking on the title role - is an utter delight ... Bertie Carvel is wonderfully malevolent (and surprisingly athletic) as the unpleasant headmistress Miss Trunchbull, while Josie Walker and Paul Kaye both amuse and appal as Matilda's horrendous parents ... With strong appeal for younger audience members, this is a perfect festive family show, but it would be a mistake to regard it as something just for the kids : I defy the hardest-bitten cynic to watch it and not come away grinning – and probably having wiped away the odd surreptitious tear. It will be a travesty if the production doesn't ultimately transfer to an extended London run."
"In Kelly's version, Matilda is not just a voracious reader and opponent of injustice. She is also a prophetic storyteller who magically prefigures the plight of her one schoolroom champion, the aptly named Miss Honey. Tim Minchin's ebullient music and lyrics add to the gaiety of the show while inevitably shifting the focus at times away from Matilda ... Kerry Ingram (one of three children playing Matilda) always draws the attention back to the heroine through her awesome mix of solemnity, vulnerability and singing talent ... And Bertie Carvel offers one of the comic performances of the year as the terrifying Miss Trunchbull ... Carvel suggests an unusually athletic Richard III ... Matthew Warchus' direction also keeps the stage a riot of kaleidoscopic activity and Rob Howell's design rightly uses the alphabet as its basic building block ... Lauren Ward as Miss Honey is touching without being glutinous. But the real success of the show, I suspect, lies in the fact it has something for everyone. Child spectators will relish its picture of adult insensitivity and injustice while adults will enjoy a display of showbiz expertise that may not be pure Dahl but that is nevertheless wholly delightful."
"Roald Dahl’s Matilda seems to be the musical Tim Minchin was born to write... And, my, has he done the original proud ... A rotating cast of three young actors share each children’s part, but Kerry Ingram, who sang, danced and acted her way through the lead role on opening night, is a fantastic presence ... Bertie Carvell is like an evil Alastair Sim as the butch Miss Trunchball ... In contrast Lauren Ward is quietly sympathetic as the softly-spoken Miss Honey ... Paul Kaye... spivvs it up flamboyantly as Mr Wormwood ... Minchin’s lyrics are flourished with this sort of wry humour that’s served him so well on the comedy circuit. For example, Josie Walker, as the gloriously garish Mrs Wormwood, flaunts her ignorance by singing ‘it doesn’t matter if you don’t know nowt/as long as you say it with clout’. Amid the big numbers are some tender ballads such as "My House" ... Proceedings bundle along a quite a pace ... Designer Rob Howell... can’t hope to replicate the style of Quentin Blake, who so distinctively illustrated the original book, the set here has a magic of its own ... Such showbiz sparkle means it’s hard to imagine anyone, of any age, who wouldn’t be charmed and entertained by this spirited production... except perhaps those rude and ignorant Wormwood parents."
"I turned up to the RSC’s new musical version of Roald Dahl’s Matilda expecting a pretty classy children’s show. What I wasn’t anticipating was the best British musical since Billy Elliot ... Dahl was never much of a stylist, and his book seems flat in comparison with this joyous adaptation, which adds splendidly witty, instantly hummable songs, dazzling choreography, a cast of impossibly cute and delightful children and a fantastic star turn from Bertie Carvel as the revolting sadist of a headmistress, Miss Trunchbull ... Peter Darling, responsible for the dance routines in Billy Elliot, is every bit as inventive here ... The songs fizz with humour and great take-home melodies. Kelly and Minchin suddenly look like the brightest prospects for British musical theatre since Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim ... Josie Walker and Paul Kaye make a thrillingly grotesque double-act as Matilda’s boorish, selfish parents, the Wormwoods ... But it is the child actors, all aged from eight to 11, who steal the show with performances that stay just the right side of cute and in the case of Matilda herself, beautifully played on press night by Kerry Ingram ... I predict that this show will be unstoppable ... The show only ended an hour ago, and already I’m longing to see it again."
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"It is a vast technical musical built around a small child and her fantasies and stories, and that is the secret. I suppose it needs the Royal Shakespeare Company’s cunning and resources to endorse literature ... Dennis Kelly’s adaptation grips from the start ... Paul Kaye in a loud check suit as the wide-boy father and Josie Walker as the mother obsessed with ballroom dancing ... Tim Minchin’s lyrics, to his own music, are so good that the temptation to write them down could, at any point, make you miss some extraordinary sight ... As for Miss Trunchbull, the evil headmistress, words fail me. Bertie Carvel, vast bust resting on a cruel leather belt, yellow teeth glinting, lantern jaw out-thrust, is a nightmare dame ... The final moments of Miss Trunchbull’s physical education class, culminating in her gigantic form doing a lethal forward roll, shade into a mournful aria about her secret dreams of a world without children. It made me drop my pen. So, no risk of spoiling the insane post-Dahl twist at the end, or giving away the best pun, or mentioning the cartwheels. A hoot."
After its cascade of rave reviews in Stratford-upon-Avon last December, I was expecting to really enjoy the RSC’s musical version of Roald Dahl’s brilliant children’s story. And I did.
But there are a few bumps in the adaptation by Dennis Kelly, and Tim Minchin’s songs are deficient in nothing except melody. It’s a good stomping, syncopated score, with some incessantly intricate lyrics and some especially good choral numbers for the schoolchildren of all ages, but hardly a tune to savour all night.
The narrative adds a fairy-tale told by Matilda to the school librarian (Melanie La Barrie) about the lost child of an acrobat and an escapologist, and it rather muddles up the clean classicism of Dahl’s conclusion. There’s also a sudden incursion of Russian Mafia that over-complicates the exodus of Matilda’s family to Spain, leaving her in happiness with Miss Honey.
But I have no complaints at all about Matthew Warchus’s production, which is a “school’s out” exercise in joyous liberation as Matilda – I saw the delightful, waif-like pocket dynamo Sophia Kiely, one of four girls rotating in the role – which pitches our heroine against the malign forces of her book-hating parents (one lyric rhymes Ian McEwan with spewin’) and the child-hating gargantuan head mistress Miss Trunchbull, an athletic hammer-throwing former champion with a sadistic side-line in gymnastics.
Bertie Carvel has been rightly acclaimed in this role, which he manages to discharge as a glinting pantomime dame without going too far over the top. In the show’s best stunt, he twirls a repellent student by her pigtails and despatches her to the gods; whence she falls with a vapid thump (illusions by Paul Kieve, natch).
The business with the rogue newt in her water jug, and indeed Matilda’s sudden onset of telekinetic powers, are less imaginatively done. The lyrics during Bruce Bogtrotter’s cake-eating feat are deliciously chewy but mostly inaudible. But James Beesley (the Bruce I saw, one of three) is just one of many outstanding singing and dancing juniors on show. Top marks and no detention for that lot.
If Lauren Ward wasn’t so delightful as Miss Jenny Honey (is that a deliberate onomatopoeic inversion of Miss Moneypenny, I wonder?), you’d say Carvel stole the show. She actually makes Miss Honey as unselfconsciously nice as she is in the book, no mean feat. And she has the best voice in the show, too.
Mr and Mrs Wormwood, Matilda’s ghastly parents, are splendidly caricatured by Paul Kaye and Josie Walker, the latter swopping her bingo obsession in the book for a theatrically obvious ballroom dancing habit and a snaky gigolo (Gary Watson).
You can’t see the band – always a negative in a musical – but Chris Nightingale’s orchestrations are top notch, and Rob Howell’s design, beautifully lit by Hugh Vanstone, is a playground marvel of Scrabble-style letter blocks, huge swings, school gym equipment and Miss Trunchbull’s green laser web for catching kids in the chokey.
Love the show but this review is littered with inhuman spoilers. - Karl
25 Apr 12
For those like me who long for fresh British musicals with original scores, Matilda is heaven sent. Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin have come up with a production which is innovative, clever and both funny and delightfully nasty, making the most of Roald Dahl’s wonderful story.
The staging is something to admire, reaching out from the stage and into the auditorium, it connects the audience to the production before the show has even started. Full of vibrancy and a kaleidoscope of colour, Matilda is a wonderful feast for the senses.
The actors all deliver high energy performances and are clearly relishing their roles. My heart initially sank when at the performance I attended Bertie Carvel was replaced by his understudy but I needn’t have worried. Alastair Parker as Miss Trunchbull relished the role, using his large frame and massive bosom to the max, wringing every last ounce of evil, sadistic, comic fun from the part. When Carvel moves on, Parker should top the list to replace him full time. Cleo Demetriou was our Matilda, such a massive role for one so young. She delivered a bravura performance, holding the whole show together with consummate style. Top marks too for Paul Kaye’s Mr Wormwood - a high-octane, delightful comic joy, Josie Walker’s deliciously vile Mrs Wormwood and Lauren Ward’s touching, beautifully sung Miss Honey. Indeed, the whole ensemble is excellent, creating an evening of utter pleasure.
The splendid staging and acting are accompanied by a joyous score. I left the theatre humming “When I Grow Up”; always I think a sign of a good musical number.
Like War Horse at the National, The RSC has found itself a massive success and a show that will boost its coffers for years to come. In Matilda, the original British musical is alive and well!
- Paul Wallis
02 Apr 12
Finally got round to seeing Matilda last night - what an amazing show, a real feast for the eyes. The staging and choreography is stunning, colourful, inventive and fast paced. Every performance is excellent, with the children rightly the stars of the show with incredible performances. I left the theatre humming "When I Grow Up" and am still humming it today. A good night out :-) - Paul Wallis
31 Mar 12
This was an outstanding perfomance. Im not a big fan of musicals but this was the best i had ever seen. - Charlene
28 Mar 12
i dont care for british musicals in the main, but found this amusing. i come in once a year from nyc to see some plays. found this year slim pickins' hence matilda, the physical was brillant. - r liam hackett
09 Feb 12
Read the other critics who rated it rather more highly and this OAP agreed. I had not read the book, fortunately I also have not read your review which blew the plot and would have spoiled it.
Is this the kind of critic who tells who dun it in the mouse trap perhaps? - BW Fatcat
25 Jan 12
I find some parts of this review somewhat harsh! I disagree with the lack of any songs to savour as 'The Smell of Rebellion' is an hilarious showstopper which contrasts perfectly with 'When I Grow Up' which prevents itself from becoming too oversentimental with its fair share of witty lyrics slipped in, a characteristic of many of the songs in this wonderful musical. The intricacy of this show's lyrics is what elevates it about the mediocrity of lyrics in many other productions in which the lyrics fail to live up to the magnificent orchestrations. I'm pleased to finally see a musical in which no-one steals the show too as all actors are given the moment to shine and they do with aplomb. I must admit that I did enjoy Bertie Carvel's performance the most though as it could have so easily been a ridiculous drag act but he was unnervingly menacing and you forget swiftly the gender of this character, overwhelmed by the melodious cruelty with which he executes his lines, milking them for every comical moment possible. There is a perfect balance of hilarity and pathos in this production and I have no doubt that this musical will have an extremely successful run. An extraordinary production and I must say far superior to Billy Elliot, the music of which is noticeably disappointing in contrast to its otherwise capitivating staging. - Rob
16 Jan 12
Walking through the foyers to your seats at the Cambridge Theatre is great fun as they’ve covered the walls with mini blackboards, each with a different chalked comment. When we got to our seats, in pole position in the front row of the Dress Circle, our mouthes fell open – Rob Howell’s extraordinary design spilled out from the stage onto the auditorium walls and ceiling.
Sadly, when the show started the sound was so bad we were missing a good quarter of the dialogue and lyrics (the developing cacophony of crisp & sweet rusting and malteser rolling increased that to 33%). What followed was brilliantly performed and executed (well, apart from the 15 minute pause to solve a technical problem – and I’m not entirely convinced it re-started at the exact point it stopped), but I didn’t think the book, music or lyrics were really that good. Has everyone been seduced by the spectacle and the hugely talented kids?
I don’t know which Matilda we had, but she was brilliant. Bertie Carvel’s Miss Trunchbull is a wonderful creation, and Paul Kaye and Josie Walker as the parents are excellent. Matthew Warchus’ staging and Peter Darling’s choreography are also superb….but at the end of the day, I really do think this is all papering over mediocre material. It’s not a ‘great British musical’ – it’s an up-market kids show and somehow I feel Roald Dahl’s story would be served better by a minimalist imaginative staging at the Young Vic or BAC where the kids could use their imagination rather than have it shoved in their faces like a video game.
Of course, it’s not for me. Maybe it’s great if you’ve got a few hundred quid and a couple of kids with ADHD to amuse for a few hours…… - Gareth James
13 Dec 11
5 stars from everyone else, come on Coveney only the hardest of hearts could not be won over by this piece! Absolutely brilliant, we have another hit British musical we can all be proud of!! - DC
06 Dec 11
Slightly overloud and overbusy at times (no doubt to entertain the children), this is nonetheless a great musical and an even more brilliant production. Bertie Carvel, Paul Kaye and Josie Walker are some truly terrible adult caricatures in the classic Dahl mould. Carvel, in particular, is droll and nuanced, cleverly underplaying some moments to increase the shock value of others, milking moments to maximise both suspense and humour. Lauren Ward, as the one adult who is decent to Matilda, is moving, and does self-hatred down to a tee. But at today's matinee, the show was made by tiny little Eleanor Worthington Cox as Matilda, who anchors the musical in loneliness and loss, and is frequently forlorn when others on stage are frenetic. She is a sweet singer and an emotive actress, with immense stage presence, and ridiculously, is only 10. Her character, Matilda, is constantly on stage and dominates the production with an immense amount of lines, so I can't say whether with another Matilda I would still give this 5 stars. In any event, don't miss Paul Kaye's appearance (with Peter Howe) in the interval, as his anti-reading tirade of a Tim Minchin song in support of "Telly" had me in hysterics. :) - steveatplays
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