Magic of Matilda is ready to roll into city's Theatre Royal

Matilda The Musical opens at Theatre Royal Plymouth this week for a four-week run. Marianka Swain goes behind the scenes to talk to the show's creatives, including director Matthew Warchus

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MATILDA is all grown up. The Royal Shakespeare Company's beloved stage version of Roald Dahl's children’s book, Matilda The Musical, this year celebrates its 15th anniversary, and, as well as continuing its hit run in the West End, this autumn the show is heading out on a UK and Ireland tour.

Matilda is an extraordinary British success story, premiering in Stratford-upon-Avon in November 2010, and transferring to the West End’s Cambridge Theatre the following year. Itwon a record-breaking seven Olivier Awards and has played everywhere from Broadway to Australia. In 2022 it was adapted into a Netflix movie.

It’s a level of success that continues to astonish its creative team, says Matthew Warchus, who also developed and directed Matilda. “None of us knew it would have the long life and the impact that it’s had. You could never have predicted it”

However, Warchus vividly remembers the audience reaction to their first performance. “I'd had a few successes as a director, but as the show ended Ihad the strange feeling of ‘Oh, I see, that’s what a hit is’ There was an explosion of emotion. You looked around and saw people with tears running their cheeks and big smiles on their faces. It was like a cultural bomb going off”

The RSC had originally thought Matilda would be their short-run Christmas show. But the moment Warchus read playwright Dennis Kelly's adaptation, he knew “it was a much bigger prospect.” He explains: “Dennis gave the source material such emotional heft. Most importantly, for a musical, it felt like there was a lot to sing about. I thought it could have an audience of not just young people but adults as well.”