Matilda the Musical
- Linda Isted
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Tim Minchin (music/lyrics), Dennis Kelly (book), Matthew Warchus, after Roald Dahl
Royal Shakespeare Company, GWB Entertainment
Palace Theatre, Manchester
March 26-April 25, 2026; 2hrs 35 mins
Somehow, Roald Dahl has generally managed to pass me by. He is still there on the bookshelves of my sons’ old bedrooms, but I had never thought to read them myself. I felt a tad ashamed of this, surrounded as I was by hundreds of fervent fans at the opening night of the RSC’s touring production of Matilda the Musical.
I knew the Quentin Blake illustrations, though, so I had the characters in my head. And there they all were, bounding across a stage bedecked with books, a wonderful testament to the loving care and attention the writers and creative team have poured into the show over the years.
Roald Dahl had eight main rules for his children’s books - thanks, Wikipedia. They began "Just add chocolate", then continued with the likes of "adults can be scary", "bad things happen" and "revenge is sweet".
These dictats are the backbone of Matilda, and director Matthew Warchus has followed them assiduously. Cruelty and horror are never very far away in Dahl, and not for nothing is “death by chocolate” on many a restaurant dessert menu. The torturing of Bruce Bogtrotter with a giant chocolate cake is relieved (literally) only by one of the most elaborate wind episodes ever to take to the stage.
Our spectacular baddie in all this is Richard Hurst as Miss Trunchbull, the medal-winning shot-putter reduced (but not in size) to a bullying, book-hating teacher. With her Edwardian bosom, prop-forward shoulders and imposing height, we are taken aback equally by her prowess both on the vaulting horse (an audible gasp from even the hardiest of us in the audience) and with the gymnastic ribbon.
This physicality is a constant throughout, with startling bursts of ballet (thank you for the wince-inducing splits, Ryan Lay as Rudolpho) balancing panto-adjacent pratfalls (Adam Stafford as Mr Wormwood, pretty much every time he appears).
Even in a show of this stratospheric overall quality, there are standout moments, and we have scenes that bring the audience to its feet. Mrs Wormwood (Rebecca Thornhill) is a keen ballroom dancer, so we have a sublime Strictly moment; and a splendid amalgam of lighting, sound and stage design (High Vanstone, Simon Baker and Rob Howell respectively) sees one of the children slung head-high out of a window by an enraged Trunchbull. Marvellous stuff.
So why the missing half-star for this show? Well, Miss Honey (Tessa Kadler) is just a touch too wimpish for my taste. And I’ve muttered bad-temperedly before about the smudgy acoustics at the Palace; there were more than a few gaps in the sound quality on the first night. The mix of light children’s voices and strong adult tones is a technical consideration of course, but one that you would expect this kind of production to resolve. Hopefully things have already been tweaked.
Sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty is Matilda the Musical's tag line. I think we can all agree with that.
::Note "This production is not suitable for children under 6 years of age, and children under 4 will not be admitted. Children must be able to occupy their own seat without assistance."
More info and tickets here
