Review: Matilda The Musical at The Bristol Hippodrome gets the full 5 stars
Posted on: 04 Jun 2026Matilda The Musical arrived at The Bristol Hippodrome this week with shows through until 27 June 2026. 365Bristol sent along Alys Marshall who gave it the full 5 stars! Some tickets are available here.
The first thing you notice about Matilda The Musical is the audience. Hordes of excitable kids, queuing to watch a story about a quietly rebellious girl who’s sense of injustice runs so strong, she develops superpowers! You can see the appeal – and I’m happy to say they weren’t disappointed.
Having only seen the film adaptation with Tim Minchin’s genius songwriting once before, I went into the show feeling fairly fresh, but the colour, exuberance and sheer energy of this musical was contagious.
I should say off the bat that four children share the part of Matilda, and last night, she was played by Sanna Kurihara, who was almost painfully charming in her bookish, clearly-enunciated and perfectly-pitched way. Sanna was accompanied by an incredible cast of kids (arguably working harder than anyone else on the West End) – but a real highlight for me was Lavender, played by Dottie Jones, who had fantastic physical comedy and an instant likeability. Similarly, Brodie Robson’s Bruce Bogtrotter was gloriously silly – and he had no trouble holding your attention, particularly with the never-ending burp…
The chances are you know the story of Matilda, thanks to Roald Dahl’s hugely popular children’s book and the timeless 1996 film of the same name – so rather than take you through show, I’m going shout out some of the most memorable moments and numbers.
The Wormwoods were perfectly lurid, comedic villains. Adam Stafford brought just the right level of cockney menace to Mr Wormwood, while Rebecca Thornhill was frankly iconic (if anyone had to rhyme “hospital cotton” with “front bottom” – I’m glad it was her).
Miss Honey, meanwhile, was brought to life Tessa Kadler, who had my favourite voice in the production. With smooth and seemingly effortless grace, Kadler real emotion to a show otherwise dominated by fast-paced, technicolour fun, particularly in her number “My House”.
I’ve saved the final shoutout for Trunchbull – played by Richard Hurst, who achieved a hilarious level of butch femininity for a notoriously hated character. This Trunchbull had the best legs I’ve ever seen on the stage, and was impossible to tear your eyes away from, especially in “The Smell of Rebellion”. She rattles off endless Roald Dahl-esque insults with vim, while her physical vastness is a brilliant contrast with Miss Honey and the children.
I have to take a minute to acknowledge the creativity of the set, which had an intentional chaos that spoke to the theme of stories and imaginary worlds, while working very well as a classroom, bedroom. Similarly, the orchestra, lighting and costume teams can take a responsibility for a hearty dollop of the magic this production achieves.
Long story short, this show is an excellent reminder that musical theatre can be a wonderfully whacky and life-affirming escape from everyday life. Your kids will love it. Your parents will love it. And you’ll love it too.