Matilda The Musical has now been seen by 8 million people worldwide, having toured to 64 cities and played more than 5800 performances in the West End, on Broadway and on tour across North America, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Matilda The Musical will have its first non-English language production at the LG Arts Centre in Seoul, South Korea from September 2018.

Winner of over 85 international awards, including 16 for Best Musical, Matilda The Musical UK and Ireland Tour is running alongside the ongoing West End production which is now playing its seventh year in London. The tour began performances in March at Leicester Curve and is currently playing at Sunderland Empire Theatre until 2 June. The show will also play Milton Keynes Theatre, Birmingham Hippodrome, Manchester, Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre, Theatre Royal Plymouth, the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, Edinburgh Playhouse, The Bristol Hippodrome, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton and Norwich Theatre Royal.

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.

After a review of new audience research carried out on behalf of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda The Musical from 12 September all evening weekday performances of the award-winning musical will begin at 7pm (Tuesday-Friday).

The survey found that the majority of London theatre-bookers surveyed gave several reasons for a preferred earlier start time for a night at the theatre, including:

• There would be more time to socialise after the show rather than rush home, allowing theatregoers to make the most of London’s vibrant bar and restaurant scene.

• For those who commute to London, it can be stressful to see a West End show if they are worried about missing their last train home.
• Parents said it would be easier to arrange a night out without their children if they could get home earlier and not worry about keeping a babysitter waiting up too late.

The run time is 2 hrs 40 minutes, which means audiences will now be able to leave the theatre before 10pm.

If successful it could see a trend to earlier start times, usually saved for 3 hours + productions.