The Multi-Award Winning Musical will have its fifth in the West End on 10th June and first UK and Ireland Tour Relaxed Performance at Birmingham Hippodrome on 19th July.

Following the sold-out success of the previous relaxed performances of Matilda The Musical, the Royal Shakespeare Company will present its fifth at the Cambridge Theatre at 3pm on Sunday 10 June. The UK and Ireland Tour of the show began performances earlier this month and will host its first relaxed performance at Birmingham Hippodrome at 2pm on Thursday 19 July.

Building on the programme of relaxed performances that the RSC has been running in Stratford-upon-Avon since 2013, the RSC is proud to have been amongst the first to adopt and promote the concept. The National Autistic Society and Mousetrap Theatre Projects will again work closely with the RSC, offering full access to the theatre for people with autism and learning disabilities and their families.

The performance provides a relaxed environment for everyone, with elements of the production adapted to reduce anxiety or stress, and with lighting and sound levels adjusted to soften their impact. Audience etiquette throughout the whole theatre is also relaxed with all audience members given the freedom to make noise and/or move about the auditorium according to their needs without restriction. Designated ‘chill-out’ areas are provided outside the auditorium with soft seating and activities available for people to use if they want to take a break. All theatre staff, crew and company members also receive specialist training in advance to anticipate a wider range of different audience needs.

In London, the Royal Shakespeare Company is offering tickets at a reduced rate which can be booked through the RSC Ticket Hotline or in person at the Cambridge Theatre box office. Tickets for the Birmingham Hippodrome relaxed performance can be made through the box office ticket sales line.

Specially trained staff will be able to help bookers by speaking to them directly and ensuring that all their specific needs and requirements are taken into consideration when assigning their seat allocation.

All bookers will be sent a visual story to help them familiarise themselves with the plot, characters and the setting before they arrive at the theatre. Detailed event and transport information will also be available from www.matildathemusical.com.

Matilda The Musical is written by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, and direction by Matthew Warchus. The production is designed by Rob Howell, with choreography by Peter Darling, orchestrations, additional music and musical supervision by Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Simon Baker and the special effects and illusions are by Paul Kieve.

Matilda The Musical has now been seen by more than 7.7 million people worldwide, having played in over 60 cities with more than 5500 performances in the West End, on Broadway, across North America and in Australia and New Zealand.

Matilda The Musical swept the board at the 2012 Olivier Awards, with a record-breaking seven awards, and won four Tony Awards and a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theater for the four girls sharing the title role on Broadway. The North America production toured to 52 cities.

The Australian and New Zealand production won a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Musical in 2015, and played sold-out seasons in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland. The show broke further records in July 2016 by winning all 13 Helpmann Awards for which it was nominated. Matilda The Musical will have its first non-English language production at the LG Arts Centre in Seoul, South Korea from September 2018 until February 2019.

Matilda The Musical is produced in the West End by the Royal Shakespeare Company with André Ptaszynski and Denise Wood as Executive Producers. The production was developed with the support of Company Dramaturg Jeanie O’Hare and the RSC Literary Department.

West End Listing 

Matilda The Musical 
Address: Cambridge Theatre, Earlham Street, WC2H 9HU

Relaxed performance – 3pm on Sunday 10 June
Booking until 10 February 2019
Tuesdays 7pm
Wednesday – Saturday 7:30pm
Wednesday & Saturday 2:30pm
Sundays 3pm

Box Office: Cambridge Theatre 020 7087 7745 / RSC Ticket Hotline 01789 403493
No booking fee.

www.matildathemusical.com

Birmingham Hippodrome Listing 

Matilda The Musical 
Address: The Birmingham Hippodrome, Hurst Street, Southside, Birmingham B5 4TB

Relaxed performance – 2pm on Thursday 19 July
Tuesday 3 July – Saturday 8 September 2018
Box Office: 0844 338 5000
Calls cost 4.5p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge.

www.birminghamhippodrome.com

About the RSC

The Royal Shakespeare Company creates theatre at its best, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world. We produce an inspirational artistic programme each year, setting Shakespeare in context, alongside the work of his contemporaries and today’s writers.

Everyone at the RSC – from actors to armourers, musicians to technicians – plays a part in creating the world you see on stage. All our productions begin life at our Stratford workshops and theatres and we bring them to the widest possible audience through our touring, residencies, live broadcasts and online activity. So wherever you experience the RSC, you experience work made in Shakespeare’s home town.

We have trained generations of the very best theatre makers and we continue to nurture the talent of the future. We encourage everyone to enjoy a lifelong relationship with Shakespeare and live theatre. We reach 530,000 children and young people annually through our education work, transforming their experiences in the classroom, in performance and online. Registered charity no. 212481 www.rsc.org.uk.

About Roald Dahl and his legacy

Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG and many more of the world’s best-loved children’s stories. He remains one of the World’s greatest storytellers.

His first children’s story, James and the Giant Peach published in 1961, was a hit and every subsequent book became a best-seller.

Today, his stories are available in 59 languages and, by a conservative estimate, he has sold more than 250 million books. Many of these stories have also been adapted for stage and screen, including the 1971 film classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wes Anderson’s acclaimed Fantastic Mr Fox, and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s multi-award winning production of Matilda The Musical.

About the National Autistic Society

The National Autistic Society is the UK’s leading charity for autistic people and their families. Founded in 1962, it provides information, support and pioneering services, and campaigns for a better world for people on the autism spectrum.

To find out more about autism or the National Autistic Society, visit www.autism.org.uk

About Mousetrap Theatre Projects

Mousetrap Theatre Projects is a theatre education charity dedicated to bringing the magic of theatre into the lives of disadvantaged young people and young people with special needs. Last year, Mousetrap took 14,000 young people to outstanding theatre across London, many for the first time. Most theatre visits include an education programme that offer workshops run by drama practitioners who use the theatre experience as a catalyst to explore ideas, learn new skills, develop creativity and offer new perspectives. Mousetrap now offers 23 access, creative learning and youth engagement programmes working with young people through London state schools, both mainstream and special, families and youth clubs. We pioneered the first relaxed performances in the West End in 2012 and we are delighted to be working with the RSC on Matilda The Musical for the fifth year.

For more information please visit: www.mousetrap.org.uk