Tim Minchin Writes Eloquent Essay On MATILDA Beginnings

Tim Minchin talks MATILDA!

Multi-Tony Award-winning international hit musical MATILDA based on the famed children's classic novel by Roald Dahl continues to pack audiences in every night on Broadway and in the West End and the man behind the music and lyrics of the show, Tim Minchin, discusses his participation in the development of the piece as part of an expansive and eloquent new essay.

Minchin relates, "I can't remember what year it was, so let's round it off to 2000. I was in my home town, Perth, doing what I'd been doing for a while: sometimes acting, sometimes composing for theatre, sometimes playing piano at weddings, singing at private parties. A few original gigs, even a bit of improv. Jogging around King's Park, living with my brother, listening to the roar of footy crowds from the front porch of our rented house right beside Subi Oval."

Furthermore, Minchin states of his first meeting with director Matthew Warchus, "I, being a man of few words myself, said something real cool and laid-back like, "Are you joking, I am a huge fan, Roald Dahl is without doubt the most important author of my childhood, The Magic Finger was the first novel I ever read, one Christmas, my brother Dan got Danny, the Champion of the World and I got The BFG and I've always thought since then that I'm more a whizzpopping personality and he's more the type to drug pheasants, and when I was 10, I used to try to write naughty poems like in Revolting Rhymes and my mum would get cross with me for being grotty, and I read Boy and Going Solo when I was nine, and I love his short stories and how about that one where the guy smashes up the priceless bit of furniture for firewood, I've read pretty much everything he's ever written, right down to his letter to anti-vaxxers that he wrote about the death of his daughter Olivia which just makes you cry, can you believe we still have to try to convince people that they should vaccinate their sh*tty kids ..." and on and on."

Additionally, Minchin shares, "I wrote most of the songs for Matilda in a blurry seven-week period, wedged between an Australian tour and the birth of my son, Caspar, in the middle of 2009. I didn't at the time know whether the songs were any good ... I still don't, really. To be honest, I didn't feel qualified to be working on the adaptation of such a well-loved text, and I was very aware of the massive gap in theatremaking experience between the rest of the creative team and me. But there was something I felt pretty secure about: I knew I didn't have to worry about Dahl. I wasn't compelled to go back and read all his books, I didn't feel the need to examine other adaptations, I didn't search for academic analysis of his style. I could see no reason why any other songwriter would know what Dahl felt like better than I. I figured all I had to do was make sure my songs felt to me like Dahl felt to me."

Check out the original article on the matter here.

The official description of MATILDA is as follows: "Winner of 50 international awards, including the Tony Award®, and one of the biggest hits on Broadway, MATILDA THE MUSICAL is the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny. Rolling Stone calls the show "hands down the BEST MUSICAL of the season." Based on the beloved novel by Roald Dahl, MATILDA continues to thrill sold-out audiences of all ages on Broadway and in London's West End."

More information on MATILDA is available at the official site here.