Theatre / Reviews
Review: Matilda The Musical, Bristol Hippodrome – ‘By any metric, a theatrical phenomenon’
Already amongst the top 10 longest-running shows in West End history, and as Matilda the Musical nears its 16th anniversary, it’s not difficult to see why it has endured.
As soon as you enter the auditorium to be met with Rob Howell’s multi-Olivier Award and Tony Award-winning staging – which opens with a gravity-defying scattering of lettered tiles around the proscenium arch – the expectation is palpable.
And the rest of the legendary creative team behind this international awards smash (picking up over 100 awards and counting) is no less delicious; with legendary RSC director Matthew Warchus at the helm, the decision to pair Dennis Kelly’s script with the music and lyrics of Tim Minchin has unlocked new levels of connection and spectacle in Roald Dahl’s beloved story that will keep the audiences queuing up to see this show for years to come.
While the 2022 film version – also brought to life by this trio – was undoubtedly a critical and commercial success, anyone watching with kids will be aware that the moments of peril are very deeply felt.
Matilda The Musical UK Tour 2025, Adam Stafford as Mr Wormwood
In contrast, what the musical does so well is to tread the fine line between comedy and horror; an exquisite balance that ensures its intergenerational appeal.
Brilliantly played for laughs by Adam Stafford and Rebecca Thornhill, the cartoony Mr and Mrs Wormwood are immediately revealed as shallow, self-obsessed and morally vapid charlatans whose lifelong refusal to bond with their daughter will, in the end, set her free.
As Miss Trunchbull, Richard Hurst’s powerhouse performance is a triumph. Ruling Cruncham Hall with violence and cruelty, the headmistress cuts the figure of a grotesque but also absurdly comic bully, unencumbered by self-awareness and entirely trapped by the idea of her own, long-past glories as a hammer thrower. Met with the strength – not to mention superpowers – of Matilda, her insatiable quest for dominance will be her downfall.
Sanna Kurihara as Matilda and Richard Hurst as Miss Trunchbull
Throughout this tour, which began back in October 2025, the role of Matilda is performed on rotation by Madison Davis, Mollie Hutton, Olivia Ironmonger and Sanna Kurihara, while Oisin-Luca Pegg, Carter-J Murphy, Brodie Robson and Takunda Khumalo share the role of Bruce. We saw Kurihara and Robson respectively, both of whom impressed, not least for their absolutely note-perfect vocals.
Elsewhere, Mrs Phelps the librarian, played with warmth and humour by Esther Niles, offers Matilda a sanctuary, as well as an audience for the young girl’s nightly storytelling about ‘the escapologist and the acrobat’. Absent from Dahl’s book, this addition is a deftly judged subplot that helps to embed Matilda’s paranormal abilities more firmly within her story, making the subsequent appearance of telekinesis feel like less of a sharp left turn.
Unquestionably, the moral centre of the narrative, and this show, is filled by Miss Honey – sensitively played by Tessa Kadler, whose rendition of My House is exactly the kind of cathartic tearjerker you need in the final stages of a musical.
Tessa Kadler as Miss Honey with the Company
Happily, too – there is out-and-out spectacle throughout. Peter Darling’s choreography makes full use of Howell’s clever kinetic staging; the various gymnastics, climbing and swinging on school gates, desks and gym mats from the excellent child ensemble makes for a truly dynamic experience.
Other theatrics include an elegant use of shadow puppetry to bring to life Matilda’s – and, it turns out, Miss Honey’s – story, while special effects maximise the impact of the infamous ‘blackboard’ scene that entirely reverses the balance of power in the room.
Convenient superpowers aside, ultimately, the lesson is that whatever our circumstances, our narratives are not predestined: we must all strive to be the architect of our own stories. Brash, funny, dazzling and joyful: musical theatre doesn’t get much better than this.
Matilda The Musical Company
Matilda The Musical is at Bristol Hippodrome on June 2-27 at 7.30pm Tuesday to Saturday, with additional 2.30pm matinee shows on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available at atgtickets.com.
All photos: Manuel Harlan
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