It has been one of this year’s most anticipated announcements on the Australian musical stage, as the four young actresses who will share the title role in the Australian Premiere Season of Matilda The Musical have been announced. They are Molly Barwick, Sasha Rose, Georgia Taplin and Bella Thomas.
This announcement follows last month’s confirmation of adult cast members; Marika Aubrey (Mrs Wormwood), Daniel Frederiksen (Mr Wormwood), Elise McCann (Miss Honey) and James Millar (Miss Trunchbull).
“The announcement of the four Matildas marks an exciting moment for the production in Australia,” says Producer, Louise Withers. “With the creative team set to arrive and rehearsals about to start, it will be thrilling to see all the elements come together leading up to performances commencing in Sydney – in late July – for the Australian premiere season of Matilda The Musical.”
Matilda The Musical is based on the beloved novel by best-selling author Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr. Fox). It is the story of an extraordinary girl who armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny.
Having proven an enormous success in London’s West End and on Broadway, where productions continue to play to packed houses and capture the imagination of young and old alike, Matilda The Musical is one of the most-anticipated theatrical events of 2015.
Matilda The Musical is directed by Matthew Warchus (God of Carnage), who helms this production with a book by Tony Award-winning playwright Dennis Kelly and music and lyrics by Australian Tim Minchin. The production has sets and costumes by Rob Howell, with choreography by Peter Darling (Billy Elliot), orchestrations, additional music and musical supervision by Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, and sound by Simon Baker.
Matilda The Musical was commissioned by the RSC and played to sold-out audiences at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon for twelve weeks from November 2010 to January 2011. It transferred to London’s West End on later that year, sweeping the board at the 2012 Laurence Olivier Awards – winning a record-breaking seven awards
The New York production opened in April 2013 at Broadway’s Shubert Theatre to rapturous reviews and winning four Tony Awards and a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theater for each of the four girls sharing the title role.
Matilda The Musical will be produced in Australia by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Louise Withers, Michael Coppel & Michael Watt with André Ptaszynski and Denise Wood as Executive Producers.
Matilda The Musical opens at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre in July 2015. For more information, visit: www.matildathemusical.com.au for details.
Image: Georgia Taplin, Bella Thomas, Sasha Rose and Molly Barwick – photo by James Morgan