The Royal Shakespeare Company’s West End production of Matilda the Musical will welcome a new children's company next month at the Cambridge Theatre.
Beginning March 18, Suki Hillier, Mia Rogers, and Alexis Whitehead will join Angelica Scott in the title role.
Other young performers joining the London company in the roles of Bruce, Lavender, Nigel, and the rest of the pupils at Crunchem Hall include Janai Bartlett, Alexander Beaumont, Kobe Champion-Norville, William Gurney, Arietta Hall, Annabelle Haverson, Chase King, Reuben Laming, Lexi Lancaster, Elsie Laslett, Maxwell McGetrick, Theo Oh, Myla Park, Josh Pegler, Drew Reilly, Harry Relf, Isabella Rummery, Ashley Taylor, Khit Thakhin, and Aisha Ugurhan.
These new performers will join existing young cast members Joseph Burrows, Pasquale Folivi AD, Joey Grady, Adam Hussain, and Isabelle McLatchie.
The current adult cast includes Tiffany Graves as Mrs. Wormwood, Kieran Hill as Miss Trunchbull, Neil McDermott as Mr. Wormwood, and Eve Norris as Miss Honey plus ensemble members Esme Bacalla-Hayes, Pearce Barron, Alex Louize Bird, Reece Budin, Ronan Burns, Dan Cooke, William Elijah-Lewis, Karina Hind, Issy Khogali, Sam Lips, Sam Jeffrey Parkes, Jak Skelly, Gabrielle Davina Smith, Deborah Tracey, Ralph Watts, and Dawn Williams.
With a Tony-winning book by Dennis Kelly and music and lyrics by Tim Minchin (Groundhog Day), Matilda tells the story of a five year-old girl whose love of reading and active imagination puts her at odds with her family and the diabolical school headmistress Miss Trunchbull. Matilda discovers she has secret powers and uses them, with help from her beloved teacher Miss Honey, to restore justice to her world.
The musical received its world premiere in 2009 from the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, transferring to London's West End in 2011 and winning seven Olivier Awards (including Best New Musical) in 2012. The production transferred to Broadway in 2013, winning Tony Awards for Best Book, Featured Actor (Gabriel Ebert), Lighting Design (Hugh Vanstone), and Scenic Design (Rob Howell). The four young actors who alternated in the title role (Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon, and Milly Shapiro) were also honored with a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre. The Broadway production closed in 2017 after playing 1,555 performances, but the West End production continues at the Cambridge.
The hit musical is directed by Matthew Warchus with designs by Rob Howell, choreography by Peter Darling, orchestrations, additional music, and musical supervision by Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker, and special effects and illusions by Paul Kieve.
