Book by Dennis Kelly

Music and Lyrics by Tim Minchin

Directed by Matthew Warchus

Review by Dominic Corr

The Playhouse

The city is over-run with revolting children; as a riot of colour and imagination bursts across the stage of The Playhouse Theatre as Matilda- The Musical arrives in Edinburgh with a flourish, a production so visually sumptuous and emotionally generous that it reaffirms why this musical has become a modern classic and a champion of the Contemporary British Musical. In a world where the greyness of reality is permanent; Matilda injects a hue of imagination and brings life to the page by giving it form on the stage.  

Roald Dahls’ story remains a beloved one, a tale of a fiercely intelligent girl born into a family who neither understand nor deserve her, a child who finds solace in books and unexpected kinship in the kindness of her teacher Miss Honey. As Matilda Wormwood discovers her own power, both literal and metaphorical, the production charts her journey from neglect to self‑determination with theatrical wit and a surprising emotional punch which hits just as hard as any ‘grown-up’ productions. 

What astonishes first is the sheer beauty of the design, with Rob Howell’s set and costume work transforms the stage into a living collage of letters, blocks, and storybook geometry, a world where colour behaves like a character and scale becomes a playground. The stage seems to breathe, shifting from cramped domestic chaos to the cavernous terror of Crunchem Hall with effortless fluidity. The illusions, crafted with meticulous care, fold seamlessly into the storytelling, books flying, chalk scribbling, and objects moving with a mischievous sentience that feels entirely earned. Hugh Vanstone’s lighting bathes the world in saturated hues that sharpen mood and mischief, while the sound design supports the magic with crisp, playful punctuation: it’s theatrical lighting, and storytelling, and it’s best and boldest – incorporated as much for aesthetic, as it is narrative. 

The production’s heartbeat lies in its choreography, where Peter Darling’s movement vocabulary blends formal musical theatre precision with the anarchic logic of children at play. Skipping ropes, hopscotch patterns, and playground rhythms become a kinetic language that advances character and plot. The child ensemble, including performers such as the ensemble, and our Matilda’s (Madison Davis, Mollie Hutton, Olivia Ironmonger and Sanna Kurihara alternating) move with astonishing unity, their physicality turning games into rebellion and rebellion into art. The result is choreography that feels organic, joyous, and deeply rooted in the world which has been created. 

The adults, meanwhile, bring a delicious theatricality to their roles. Few characters in musical theatre offer as much grotesque pleasure as Miss Trunchbull, and Richard Hurst (of the sinister Scar of Lion King fame) seizes the role with a chokehold, in a performance of towering comic menace. Every gesture is sharpened to a wicked point, every line delivered with a relish that makes the character both monstrous and irresistible. Hurst’s physicality is a marvel, contorting authority into absurdity while never losing the genuine threat beneath the humour. 

While warmth radiates from Tessa Kadler as Miss Honey, a performance of quiet strength and luminous sincerity. Kadler’s voice carries a gentle ache that anchors the production’s emotional core, her scenes with Matilda offering a stillness that contrasts beautifully with the surrounding chaos. The tenderness she brings to the role is never sentimental, instead grounded in a believable resilience that makes her final triumph profoundly satisfying. 

The Wormwoods, played with riotous vulgarity by Adam Stafford and Rebecca Thornhill, provide some of the evening’s most gleefully unhinged comedy, their scenes bursting with garish energy and impeccable timing. But at the centre of it all stands Madison Davis, whose performance as Matilda is nothing short of a direct-line to the heart of innocence, and a much-needed thump of positivity and courage in a stage-commanding performance. Balancing intelligence, mischief, and vulnerability with astonishing poise, the young performer commands the stage with clarity and emotional truth. Moments of stillness become acts of defiance, and moments of play become declarations of identity. It is a performance that anchors the production with heart and fierce integrity. 

But for as much as the visuals of the show triumph – it is the voice with which Matild speaks, that is to be celebrated above all else. Composer and lyricist Tim Minchin shapes the story with precision and generosity with a score that remains a marvel of wit and emotional clarity, Kelly’s book balances Dahl’s darkness with compassion, and Warchus’s direction ensures that every element, from illusion to choreography to character, serves the cast, as well as the audience.  

This Matilda is a celebration of invention, a champion of imagination: a perfect crossroads for any audience, and a production that dazzles the eye, stirs the heart, and reminds audiences that courage can be found in the smallest hands. It is a triumph of imagination and craft, a show that leaves audiences glowing with the belief that stories, like children, can change the world.  

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