MATILDA THE MUSICAL Leaves Melbourne On A High

The Royal Shakespeare Company's Australian Production of Matilda The Musical will finish its triumphant Melbourne season this evening, having enjoyed sold-out houses since opening at the Princess Theatre in March this year.

Producer, Louise Withers said, "The Producers and all at the RSC just want to thank Melbourne for supporting this beautiful piece of theatre. The entire cast, crew and company could not be happier with what has been such a great season."

Victorians have embraced Matilda with over 400,000 people attending the show over its Melbourne run, having received rave reviews and the season selling out weeks ahead of the closing date.

2016 saw Matilda The Musical become the most successful and acclaimed musical in Australian show business history, receiving a record thirteen Helpmann Awards in July. Continued success looks likely with seasons at Brisbane's Lyric Theatre, QPAC from 25 November 2016 and Perth's Crown Theatre from 28 February 2017 currently on sale.

Tickets for the Adelaide season, commencing at the Adelaide Festival Centre's Festival Theatre from 21st May 2017 go on sale to the general public from Wednesday 7th December 2016 at 9am.

Winner of now over 60 major international awards, including 14 for Best Musical, Matilda continues to thrill audiences in London, on Broadway, on tour around the USA, in Canada and in Australia.

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 internationally, where productions continue to play to packed houses and capture the imagination of young and old alike, the Australian Production of Matilda The Musical opened to unqualified rave reviews in Sydney last year. The Australian said the show "makes you want to punch the air with delight." and Time Out Sydney pronounced the show "a freaking masterpiece". In Melbourne, The Age described the show as "a slick and brilliant wonder" and Time Out Melbourne said, "Tim Minchin's smash-hit musical is nothing short of a miracle."

Matilda The Musical is directed by Tony Award® winner 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 Tony Award® winner Rob Howell, with choreography by Tony Award® winner Peter Darling (Billy Elliot), orchestrations, additional music and musical supervision by Christopher Nightingale, lighting by Tony Award® winner Hugh Vanstone, and sound by Simon Baker.

Matilda The Musical was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company 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 Tuesday 25 October 2011 where it opened to rave reviews.

The New York production of Matilda The Musical opened on 11 April 2013 at Broadway's Shubert Theatre to rapturous reviews and was celebrated on 10 "Top Ten" lists for 2013, including TIME Magazine's #1 Show of the Year.

Matilda The Musical's award-wining success includes sweeping the board at the 2012 Laurence Olivier Awards in London with a record-breaking seven awards, and winning four Tony Awards® and a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theater for each of the four girls sharing the title role on Broadway in 2013.

Matilda The Musical is produced in Australia by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Louise Withers, Michael Coppel & Michael Watt with André Ptaszynski and Denise Wood as Executive Producers.

This production was originally developed with the support of the RSC Literary Department.

The RSC Literary Department is generously supported by THE DRUE HEINZ TRUST.

The RSC Ensemble is generously supported by THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION and THE KOVNER FOUNDATION.

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 one of the world's most inventive, mischievous, and successful storytellers. His stories are currently available in 58 languages and, by a conservative estimate; he has sold more than 200 million books. Many of Roald Dahl's best-loved stories have been adapted for stage and screen. High profile film adaptations include Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), James and the Giant Peach (1996), Matilda (1996), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and Fantastic Mr Fox (2009). The next movie will be Steven Spielberg's adaptation of The BFG, set for release in July 2016. Roald Dahl Day is marked annually all over the world on - and around - Roald Dahl's birthday, September 13th. In 2016, there will be global celebrations for the Centenary of Roald Dahl's birth.