Matilda the Musical set to charm China

For generations, the books of British author Roald Dahl have been a bedside fixture for millions of children around the world.

His darkly comic stories, including James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Twits, view the tough adult world through the eyes of children, whose innocence, wisdom, and imagination guide them to victory in an often challenging environment. In recent years, a new champion has emerged to surpass the rest: the stage show of Matilda.

Although Dahl's original book was published in 1988, and a theatrical version released in 1996, Matilda the Musical has taken Matilda to new heights.

The stage version of the tale of a super-intelligent child whose talents are ignored by her parents and who encounters the harshness of authority at school before a caring teacher inspires her to triumph, is written by Dennis Kelly with songs by Australian composer Tim Minchin.

A multi award-winning success in London's West End and on New York's Broadway, it is now touring around the world, and Matilda's next stop is China.

Ivy Yang, the CEO of Chinese theatrical adaptation company Seven Ages, told China Daily that bringing Matilda to the stage was the culmination of a long journey. Seven Seas was chosen to partner by GWB Entertainment, the show's global stagers.

"When I first saw the show in London seven years ago, it was love at first sight," she said. "I then spent five years traveling the world and talking to the rights holders, before finally, I got the chance to bring it to China."

The touring production of Matilda the Musical, which will be performed in English with translated subtitles, will open on July 2 in Dongguan and run in various cities until January. All told, there will be more than 130 performances in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Guangzhou, Changsha, Chongqing, Hefei, Wuhan, Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, and Nanjing.

Producer Paul Warwick Griffin of GWB Entertainment told China Daily of his professional involvement with China, dating back. nearly 20 years, noting that the market had grown so much and so quickly.

"In the last five years, there's been an explosion in terms of independent commercial presenters who have come out of the woodwork, pushing for market exposure," he said. "There's no shortage of venues, and, on paper, there's an enormous appetite for the live performing arts, but ... outside the big cities there's not the depth of experience in support structure."

Dahl was born in Wales to Norwegian parents and died in 1990, aged 74. He was a prolific writer of all kinds of books, but his children's stories have proved the most popular. Yang said the universality of his themes, especially such a rebellious, authority-challenging character as Matilda, were perfect for the modern Chinese audience.

julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com

(China Daily Global 06/25/2019 page6)