July 2016

Last night, the glittering 2016 Helpmann Awards ceremony was held at Sydney’s Lyric theatre.

Photo by James Morgan

It was an extraordinary evening for an extraordinary show. Having been nominated for 13 Helpmann Awards, the Australian production of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda The Musical converted them into a record breaking 13 wins, including Best Musical!

Tim won Best Original Score in a Musical for his music and lyrics, while Best Female Actor in a Musical went to the eight Australian Matildas who have shared the role of the eponymous hero in Sydney and Melbourne: Molly Barwick, Dusty Bursill, Tiana Mirra, Alannah Parfett, Sasha Rose, Georgia Taplin, Bella Thomas and Ingrid Torelli.

James Millar scooped Best Male Actor in a Musical with Matthew Warchus winning Best Direction of a Musical.

The rest of the wins, across the other categories, are as follows:
Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Daniel Frederiksen
Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Elise McCann
Best Costume Design in a Musical – Rob Howell
Best Scenic Design in a Musical – Rob Howell
Best Sound Design in a Musical – Simon Baker
Best Lighting Design – Hugh Vanstone
Best Music Direction in a Musical – Stephen Amos
Best Choreography in a Musical – Peter Darling

Tim and the 8 Australian Matildas. Photo by James Morgan

Congratulations to all at Matilda The Musical Australia!

Here’s Tim making his acceptance speech:

On Thursday, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Canadian production of Matilda The Musical had its official Opening Night at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto!

Three young actresses alternate playing Matilda, with Hannah Levinson swinging gloriously into action in the title role for the premiere. Jaime MacLean and Jenna Weir make up the rest of the Toronto Matilda trio.

They are joined by the principals (in alphabetical order) Paula Brancati (Miss Honey), Dan Chameroy (Miss Trunchbull), Keisha T. Fraser (Mrs Phelps), Brandon McGibbon (Mr Wormwood) and Darcy Stewart (Mrs Wormwood).

The Toronto Matildas: Jenna Weir, Jaime MacLean and Hannah Levinson. Photo ©2016, Joan Marcus

Tickets are on sale for performances up until 16th October, 2016, from www.mirvish.com or by phone at TicketKing at 416-872-1212 or 1-800-461-3333.

Toronto cast on the red carpet for Opening Night

Toronto will be the only production of Matilda The Musical in Canada

More information, including full cast details, can be found on the Matilda The Musical website and if you’d like to see the story of Matilda’s adventures internationally, including many reviews, photos and videos then take a look here.

Ten days to go! In case you missed them, here are a selection of photos of Tim, some of the cast, musicians and creatives in rehearsals for Groundhog Day.

All Photos © Manuel Harlan.

Danny Rubin and Tim

The Groundhog Day company in rehearsals

Andy Karl and Carlyss Peer

Laurie Perkins and Tim

The Groundhog Day company in rehearsals

Danny Rubin and Matthew Warchus

There are more rehearsal photos here on the Old Vic’s Facebook Page. You can follow @oldvictheatre on Twitter too for the latest updates.

Groundhog Day will begin with previews from July 15th, with the official opening on August 16th. It will be a strictly limited 10-week season until Saturday 17th September, 2016.

More information and Tickets can be found on The Old Vic website. You can also book over the phone: 0844 871 7628 or in person at The Old Vic.

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Matilda The Musical arrives at the Adelaide Festival Centre in May 2017 to play a strictly limited eight week season. There’s a waitlist now open for tickets – you can sign up here.

Matilda The Musical is currently playing to excited and packed houses at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre, before heading to Brisbane’s Lyric Theatre at QPAC in November 2016, then Perth’s Crown Theatre from February 2017, before swinging back over to Adelaide in May 2017.

Tickets for Brisbane are already on sale and you can sign up to the waitlist for priority access to tickets for Perth and Adelaide when they go on sale. For the best seats to Melbourne performances, at the moment, go to August when booking.

Those of you following the story will know Matilda The Musical was recently nominated for 13 Helpmann Awards and has won over 50 major international awards, including 13 for Best Musical, delighting audiences in London, Australia, on Broadway and on tour around the USA.

As we announced here, next month ABC KIDS is presenting a series of Play School Celebrity Covers, to celebrate 50 years on air.

Tim’s mini-episode, The Bunyip of Berkeley’s Creek, is on ABC KIDS at 8am on the 13th July and it will be up on iView shortly after the broadcast.

Here’s Tim and Jemima:

Episodes will air daily on ABC KIDS at 8am and 5pm from the 4th July.