PRESS RELEASE 17 January 2019

FIRST LOOK AT ELLIOT HARPER AS MISS TRUNCHBULL IN THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY’S UK & IRELAND TOUR

NEW IMAGES AVAILABLE HERE

The Royal Shakespeare Company have released the first images of Elliot Harper as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda The Musical’s UK and Ireland tour. Elliot joined the production on Tuesday 15 January at Theatre Royal Plymouth. The tour will then play at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford (19 February – 23 March 2019), Edinburgh Playhouse (2 – 27 April 2019), The Bristol Hippodrome (7 May – 8 June 2019), Mayflower Theatre, Southampton (11 June – 6 July 2019) and Norwich Theatre Royal (16 July – 17 August 2019). The West End production will continue to play at the Cambridge Theatre, where it is now in its eighth year and is booking until 24 May 2020. Carly Thoms (Miss Honey) and Sebastien Torkia and Rebecca Thornhill (Mr and Mrs Wormwood) will continue in their roles until the tour concludes its run at Norwich Theatre Royal on 17 August 2019. Elliot Harper’s credits include Father Joe in The Exorcist at the Phoenix Theatre, Matilda The Musical (Cambridge Theatre), One Man Two Guvnors (National Theatre), Les Misérables (Queens Theatre) and The Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty’s Theatre). Other theatre credits include Sweet Charity (Watermill), A Study In Scarlet (Southwark Playhouse), The Silver Tassie (Druid/Lincoln Center NY), Rope, Arsenic and Old Lace (Pitlochry Festival Theatre), The Big Sleep (The Mill At Sonning), As You Like It, Deathtrap, The Taming of the Shrew, The Talented Mr Ripley and Travels with my Aunt (Queens Theatre, Hornchurch), and the UK touring productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and The Buddy Holly Story. Harper’s film and television credits include Howard Goodall’s 20th Century Greats (Tiger Aspect), Showroom, which was a winning film at SXSW Film Festival, and The Egg, Masters of the Universe (Asalva Productions).

The full adult cast includes Richard Astbury, Joe Atkinson, Nina Bell, Peter Bindloss, Oliver Bingham, Emily Bull, Samara Casteallo, Matthew Caputo, Matt Gillett, Michelle Chantelle Hopewell, Sam Lathwood, Steffan Lloyd-Evans, Charlie Martin, Tom Mather, Anu Ogunmefun, Carly Thoms, Rebecca Thornhill, Sebastien Torkia, Adam Vaughan and Dawn Williams. The role of Matilda is shared by Sophia Ally, Scarlett Cecil, Poppy Jones, Emma Moore and Nicola Turner. The other young performers in the UK and Ireland Tour in the three teams who play the roles of Bruce, Lavender, Amanda and the rest of the pupils at Crunchem Hall and are as follows: Evie Allen, Louella Asante-Owusu, Joseph Black, Georgia Mae Brown, Isobelle Chalmers, Jessica Chalmers, Madeline Gilby, Sheldon Golding, Cuba Kamanu, Tom Lomas, Adam Lord, Maddison Lowe, Ilan Miller, Felicity Mitson, Toby Mocrei, Ashton Murphy, Joely Robertson, Ruaridh Sinnott, Kit Swaddling, Chantelle Tonolete, Harrison Wilding and Harry Wilson. Matilda The Musical is written by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, and developed and directed 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. The production is accompanied by Change My Story, a new education programme inspired by Matilda The Musical which will engage young people in towns and cities across the UK and Ireland. With a travelling library of stories led by the musical’s librarian Mrs Phelps and whole school takeovers, the RSC aims to reach over 15,000 children, in collaboration with touring theatre partners. Further details can be found at http://uk.matildathemusical.com/tour/schools/matilda-school-resources/. Matilda The Musical has now been seen by 8.7 million people worldwide, having toured to over 72 cities and played more than 6500 performances in the West End, on Broadway and on tour across North America, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Matilda The Musical had its first non-English language production at the LG Arts Centre in Seoul, South Korea in September 2018. Inspired by the incomparable Roald Dahl’s beloved book, Matilda The Musical was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and premiered at the RSC’s Stratford- upon-Avon home in November 2010, before transferring to London’s West End in October 2011, where it opened to rave reviews. The New York production of Matilda The Musical opened in April 2013 at Broadway’s Shubert Theatre and was celebrated on 10 “Top Ten” lists for 2013, including TIME Magazine’s #1 Show of the Year. 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 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 is produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company with André Ptaszynski and Denise Wood as Executive Producers. The production was developed with the support of Jeanie O’Hare and the RSC Literary Department.

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.

-ENDS- TOUR LISTINGS

Theatre Royal Plymouth Tuesday 15 January – Saturday 16 February 2019 Box Office: 01752 267 222 www.theatreroyal.com

The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford Tuesday 19 February – Saturday 23 March 2019 Box Office: 01274 432 000 www.bradford-theatres.co.uk

Edinburgh Playhouse Tuesday 2 – Saturday 27 April 2019 Box Office: 0844 871 3014* www.atgtickets.com/venues/edinburgh-playhouse/

The Bristol Hippodrome Tuesday 7 May – Saturday 8 June 2019 Box Office: 0844 871 3012* www.atgtickets.com/bristol-hippodrome

Mayflower Theatre, Southampton Tuesday 11 June – Saturday 6 July 2019 Box Office: 02380 711 811 www.mayflower.org.uk

Norwich Theatre Royal Tuesday 16 July – Saturday 17 August 2019 Box Office: 01603 630 000 www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk

* Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company's access charge. ** Calls cost 4.5p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge. www.matildathemusical.com #matildaontour WEST END LISTING

MATILDA THE MUSICAL Cambridge Theatre Earlham Street London WC2H 9HU Tuesday – Friday 7pm Wednesday 2pm Saturday 2.30pm & 7.30pm Sundays 3pm

Box Office: Cambridge Theatre 020 7087 7745 / RSC Ticket Hotline 01789 331111 No booking fee.

Booking until 24 May 2020 www.matildathemusical.com Twitter: @MatildaMusical Facebook: @MatildaTheMusical Instagram: @MatildaTheMusical

Press Representatives: Hannah Clapham and Samantha Montague at The Corner Shop PR | Tel. 020 7831 7657 [email protected] | [email protected]

NOTES TO EDITORS

• The original cast recording of Matilda The Musical is available from iTunes and on CD. Recorded in a studio by the original Stratford-upon-Avon cast, the album includes 17 original numbers from the production, including When I Grow Up, Revolting Children and The Smell of Rebellion. The CD is available from the RSC Shop - www.rsc.org.uk/shop, iTunes, or via the Matilda The Musical website www.matildathemusical.com

• The work of the RSC Education Department is generously supported by PAUL HAMLYN FOUNDATION, THE ALLAN AND NESTA FERGUSON CHARITABLE TRUST, THE ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER FOUNDATION, THE POLONSKY FOUNDATION, THE ERNEST COOK TRUST and TAK ADVISORY LIMITED

• The work of the RSC Literary Department is generously supported by THE DRUE HEINZ TRUST

• The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION and THE KOVNER FOUNDATION • • Edwardian Hotels London - Preferred Hotel Partner for Matilda The Musical in London

• EPK footage of Matilda The Musical is available here

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 61 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. The latest Roald Dahl story to hit the big screen was Steven Spielberg’s #1 box office blockbuster The BFG in 2016.

About the Arts Council Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk