The Royal Shakespeare Company’s award-winning production of Matilda The Musical will return to Australian stages in 2027, with seasons set to open across three capital cities.
More than a decade after Australian audiences first embraced the show and its songs – which put Tim Minchin on the map as one of Australia’s best musical theatre writers – Matilda The Musical will return to Australia, opening at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre from October 2027 before travelling to Sydney’s Lyric Theatre and QPAC’s Lyric Theatre in Brisbane.
Matilda the Musical returns – quick links
A decade on, Matilda is coming home
The original Australian production of Matilda The Musical toured nationally from 2015 to 2017, playing to more than one million people and selling out seasons around the country.
It also became a record-breaking awards juggernaut. In 2016, the production won all 13 Helpmann Awards for which it was nominated, including Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Choreography – a clean sweep that remains one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of the awards.
The production also took home eight Green Room Awards in 2017, further cementing its status as one of the defining musical theatre productions of its era.
Now, a new generation of Australian performers and creatives will take on the roles, songs and choreography that helped make Matilda such a phenomenon here.
‘I am so, so excited that Matilda is touring Australia again,’ said Minchin, who wrote the show’s music and lyrics.
‘The 2015-17 tour was absolutely brilliant – a genuinely world-class production to rival the West End version. Now, a decade later, a whole new batch of incredible Aussie performers and crew and craftspeople will be putting the show on, and a whole new generation of audiences of all ages will have a chance to get a dose of pure joy.’
A big show at a difficult time for musical theatre
There is reason for the optimism. The past year has exposed some of the serious pressures facing commercial musical theatre in Australia, with a string of major touring musicals – including Beetlejuice!, Waitress, Back to the Future and Dear Evan Hansen – recently closing early or having Australian seasons cancelled amid rising production costs and cost-of-living pressures.
Against that backdrop, the return of a musical with a proven Australian audience is welcome news for the industry, as well as for the performers, musicians, technicians and other creative workers who bring large-scale productions to the stage.
And while the sector is under pressure, audience appetite for major musicals has not disappeared – the current Australian production of The Lion King recently extended its tour, with the long-running Disney musical adding a season in Melbourne.
Currently playing to sold-out houses in Sydney, The Lion King has become the fastest-selling show in the history of the Capitol Theatre and recently recorded the highest-selling musical presale in Queensland Performing Arts Centre history.
But imports from Broadway and the West End are not the only signs of renewed investment in the form and its future.
Last month, the City of Melbourne and Victorian Government announced a $1 million Musical Theatre Development Fund, designed to support the development and production of new musicals in Victoria. The initiative was framed as a way of strengthening the pipeline for homegrown works at a time when the sector is under significant pressure.
Other initiatives are similarly looking to rebuild Australia’s touring infrastructure, including the Second Cities Producing Consortium, which is bringing together four regional arts venues to develop and stage ambitious new Australian theatre works.
The return of Matilda is a different proposition – a major international production with an established audience and a globally proven track record – but its national tour will nevertheless put hundreds of artists and arts workers back to work across three major Australian cities.
For Brisbane in particular, the announcement comes after the recent disappointment of Beetlejuice! cutting its Queensland season short, with ArtsHub’s recent coverage highlighting the particular vulnerability of the city’s theatre ecosystem when major touring productions are scaled back.
‘Even if you’re little you can do a lot’
Based on Roald Dahl’s beloved novel, Matilda The Musical follows an extraordinary young girl whose intelligence and imagination help her stand up against the adults who seek to control her.
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production, written by Dennis Kelly and directed by Matthew Warchus with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, has now been seen by more than 13 million people across more than 100 cities worldwide. It has won 101 international awards, including 25 for Best Musical, and has become one of the longest-running productions in London’s West End.
For RSC co-artistic directors Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans, the show’s longevity comes down to the enduring power of its story.
‘After its premiere over 15 years ago in Stratford-upon-Avon, Matilda Wormwood’s genius is still teaching us that even if you’re little you can do a lot,’ they said.
Australian producer Louise Withers said the return would offer both a chance to revisit a beloved production and introduce it to audiences who were too young to experience the original tour.
‘The beauty of Matilda is that every generation discovers something different within it,’ she said. ‘Children see possibility, adults rediscover wonder, and families share an unforgettable experience together.’
That intergenerational appeal may be particularly significant for the Australian musical theatre sector right now. After a period in which audiences and producers alike have faced considerable uncertainty, a production capable of drawing families into theatres is more than a nostalgia play.
It is, perhaps, a reminder of why big, ambitious musical theatre continues to matter – and why keeping audiences in the habit of going to the theatre matters too.
The Australian 2027 Tour of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Matilda The Musical will be produced by Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Linda Bewick.
The tour opens at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre in October 2027, before travelling to Sydney and Brisbane. Further details about casting, dates and tickets are yet to be announced but audiences can now join the waitlist for priority ticket and production information.
