Matilda celebrates 15 years as West End success story

A musical that began life as a Christmas production in Stratford-upon-Avon has become one of the biggest theatre successes of the century as it celebrates 15 years in London's West End.

Matilda The Musical, which is now the 10th longest-running musical in West End history, has been seen by more than 12 million people around the world, staged more than 10,000 performances and played in more than 100 cities.

Composer and lyricist Tim Minchin said he was still amazed by the show's success.

"Probably the biggest family musical of this century is written by [us] couple of idiots," he joked.

Based on Roald Dahl's classic children's novel, the production premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2010 before transferring to the West End the following year.

Written by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Minchin, the musical has gone on to win more than 100 international awards, including 25 for best musical.

Kelly said neither of them expected the production to become a global phenomenon.

"If we'd made a successful show at Stratford, we'd have been delighted," he said.

"I just remember the first night... the audience going crazy and I just wasn't ready for it all.

"I was standing at the back, I wasn't even sitting in a seat and I just wasn't ready for it and I just thought, 'This is weird'."

Minchin said the scale of the show's success became apparent when he and Kelly watched an early preview in Stratford.

"We saw it on stage at the first preview in Stratford and we thought, 'Ah, hold on a minute'," he said.

"We thought at that point that we might have a real crack at getting to the West End - but the bonus 15 and a half years. It's mad."

He attributed part of the show's enduring popularity to its message.

"It says to kids, stand up for what's right. Be brave, reading and stories are freedom, your family is where you find it, love conquers all, little girls are powerful. It's hard to feel cynical about it."

Jacqui O'Hanlon, deputy executive director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, said nobody involved in the original production could have predicted its longevity.

"None of us could have guessed that it would be the global phenomenon that 16 years later we're still talking about," she said.

"We started the run of the show with ticket discounts in place for the previews, because there were seating gaps and by the end of it, tickets were being sold on eBay for hundreds of pounds, so it was that quick."

The show is currently touring the UK and Ireland while continuing its West End run, with tickets on sale in London until January 2027.

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