The four young actresses who are excited to share the title role in the Australian Premiere Season of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Matilda The Musical were announced today. They are (in alphabetical order) Molly Barwick, Sasha Rose, Georgia Taplin and Bella Thomas.
Matilda The Musical, commences performances from July 28th, 2015, at the Sydney Lyric Theatre with tickets currently on sale via the Matilda The Musical website for performances through to October 25th.
When news first broke that Matilda was joyfully swinging over to Australia, Tim said: “Working on Matilda has been one of the greatest thrills of my life, and I’ve been aching to let her loose on audiences at home. Most of us grew up reading Dahl – the Australian sense of humour gels so well with his dark, iconoclastic tone. The last time a musical I helped write opened in Sydney, the actors almost outnumbered the audience, the theatre leaked, and my drummer was a bass player. If Matilda’s arrival is half as fun as that was, it’ll be a hoot.”
All four of Sydney’s Matildas will be making their professional musical theatre debut.
Left to right – Molly Barwick, Sasha Rose, Georgia Taplin & Bella Thomas
Tim will be joining the panel on @midnight on Comedy Central again next week. Hosted by Chris Hardwick, the show is an internet-themed improv comedy panel show, where comedians compete to find the funniest take on the day’s social media.
The show will air on Comedy Central on Thursday 16th April, 2015, 12A/11C. Check your local schedules for further details. Episodes can be found on the Comedy Central @midnight website after they air.
Hulu will post the show the day after it airs and it will be available for 30 days. For more details check hulu.com/midnight.
Tim will be recording this episode on Wednesday, April 15th, 2015, at 7:00pm, at Hollywood Center Studios, so if you’re in or near LA, you might like to apply for tickets from On Camera Audiences (OCA).
UPDATE (15/04/15): The other panellists are Rhys Darby & Rich Fulcher!
Tim is one of 63 comedians interviewed for the new three-part documentary series Stop Laughing…This Is Serious, which starts at 9pm this Wednesday on ABC.
The series, narrated by Eric Bana, explores the development of Australian comedy through social and political change, inter-weaving extensive archive material and intimate interviews with some of the country’s best loved comedians, revealing how humour, laughter and comedy are integral to Australian national identity.
Episode 1: ‘Faark, Faark’ looks upwards at those in authority and “punching upwards”.
Wednesday, March 25th at 9pm
Episode 2: ‘Look at Moi, Look at Moi’ looks inwards at the importance of the Australian ability to laugh
at themselves.
Wednesday, April 1st at 9pm
Episode 3: ‘Hello Possums’ looks at Australian comedy on the world stage.
Wednesday, April 8th at 9pm
Matilda The Musical has been short-listed for the This Morning Audience Award at the Olivier Awards 2015.
It’s the only Olivier to be decided entirely by public vote.
If you voted for Matilda in Stage One (thank you!) you do not need to vote again as your vote has been carried forward.
However, if you have not yet voted then you have until 17:00 on 10th April, 2015, to take part in the Stage Two voting here.
The winner will be announced at the glittering Olivier Awards ceremony on Sunday 12th April, 2015, at Royal Opera House.
More information can be found at www.olivierawards.com.
Tim and director Matthew Warchus caught up with the four Matildas in rehearsals a couple of weeks ago and below the evidentiary photo you’ll find a short video of the Matildas encouraging voting before demonstrating expert execution of the Matilda pose:
L-R: Matthew Warchus, Matilda Shapland, Lara McDonnell, Anna-Louise Knight, Violet Tucker, Tim. Photo by Manuel Harlan
There have been a number of requests for the merch created for Tim’s spectacular Sydney Opera House ‘On The Steps’ show, last month, so it’s now been made available through Tim’s shop here. They ship internationally.
So, if you attended the gig but didn’t get near the merch stall or if you didn’t make it to the show but fancy a souvenir of the event with the unique artwork, here’s your chance.
There are Limited Edition T-shirts in a range of sizes and Limited Edition Posters, some of which are signed by Tim.
You can access the ‘shop’ via the tab above, selecting the ‘Australasia shop’ for these items or directly here: timminchin.bandtshirts.com.au.
After the huge success of last year’s relaxed performance of Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge Theatre, The RSC will be putting on a second performance on Sunday 14th June 2015 at 3pm!
This special performance will see elements of the production adapted to reduce anxiety or stress. Lighting and sound levels are adjusted to soften their impact and audience members are free to move around the auditorium during the performance. Designated ‘chill-out’ areas will be provided outside the auditorium with soft seating and activities if being in the auditorium becomes overwhelming.
Tickets are available exclusively from the theatre box office on 0844 412 4652 and the RSC ticket hotline on 0844 800 1110
On Sunday, 1st February 2015, the Broadway production of Matilda the Musical will be putting on an autism-friendly performance!
The show is part of the Theatre Development Fund’s Autism Theatre Initiative, which aims to make theatre accessible to children and adults on the autism spectrum, as well as their families.
There’ll be a few slight adjustments to the production, including the reduction of any jarring sounds or strobe lights focused into the audience. In the theatre lobby there will be quiet areas and an activity area, staffed with autism specialists, for those who need to leave their seats during the performance.
The last few tickets can be booked exclusively, at a reduced rate, through the Theatre Development Fund’s website, which also includes several guides to help personalise the experience.
The festival plays across several Austin venues and the Cap City Comedy Club. Other Headliners include: Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford, Marc Maron, Wanda Sykes, John Mulaney, T.J. Miller, Pete Holmes and Ron White.
Single tickets for the headliner performances will be available from the 19th February.
Tim will be on your telly Christmas Day at 9pm on BBC2.Tim Rice: A Life In Song sees a host of special guests celebrate the life and work of the great lyricist at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
Michael Grade hosts and is in conversation with Tim Rice, teasing out the stories behind some of the best loved songs from stage and screen over the last five decades.
‘Our Tim’ joins Alexander Armstrong, Gemma Arterton, Rob Brydon, Roger Daltrey, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Rufus Wainwright amoungst many others. They are accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Mike Dixon. Full details and line-up are to be found here.
Tim opened the show with, Heaven On Their Minds from Jesus Christ Superstar*, on the night, so it might be worth tuning in early if you’re sitting down to watch it on the telly box in your paper hats.
Otherwise it’ll be available on iPlayer shortly after it airs and via the BBC RED Button: 10:25pm until 6:00am.
It’s finally time to announce something that’s been on most North American fans’ wishlists – region 1 DVDs!
Comedy Dynamics released So F**king Rock Live and Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra on streaming site Hulu (and Netflix for the Heritage Orchestra show) earlier this year and now they’re releasing both shows on DVD!
The DVDs are being released on 20th January 2015 – a bit too late for Santa to leave them under your tree, but we’ve heard that they make equally as excellent birthday presents!
They’re available to preorder from Amazon (US and Canada) from the following links:
Due to the phenomenal demand for tickets for the show on the 23rd, causing it to sell out in minutes, Tim will be doing a second and final date On The Steps of the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday 24th February, 2015.
The rest of the tickets will go on general sale at 10am on Friday 12th December, 2014, here.
If you didn’t have tickets to the 23rd, we hope this other date will do…
So, if you’d like to see Tim take over the steps of the Opera House with his band, shake out that glorious mane, bust some moves and entertain you wildly with concert versions of his greatest hits (and if you’re lucky maybe a song or two from Matilda and/or his new musical Groundhog Day) best get your wiggle on to grab tickets!
Tim was interviewed on The Morning Show last week and at 07:48 he talks briefly about what you can expect from his show on the steps of the Sydney Opera House and whether he’ll choose a swanky new costume or appear in his “birthday suit”…
It’s been a few years since Tim visited San Francisco. So, having heard your numerous pleas, he’ll be performing at the Nourse Theatre, San Francisco, CA, at 7pm on Sunday, January 25th, 2015!
This will be vintage Tim; delivering a heady mix of clever, satirical and often beautiful songs, along with his musical athleticism and a ferocious hairdo.
Tickets to this special evening, at the newly renovated and reopened Nourse Theatre, are likely to sell fast so be sure you’re adequately prepared to snap them up at the presale:
Get excited Australia because there’s one hell of a show coming your way!
Your favourite fashion icon / mock rock star / musical theatre composer (delete as applicable) is heading back to the iconic Sydney Opera House to play a special, one-off show on its forecourt!
Tim will be performing on Monday 23rd February 2015 as part of the On The Steps series of concerts.
He’ll be bringing with him a band of unspecified size, to play a currently undecided setlist that’ll feature a mix of your favourite classics, with a few bits and pieces you might not have heard before thrown in for good measure!
This is Tim’s only Australian show scheduled for 2015 (apologies to the rest of the country) so you’ll want to get your tickets sharpish and, fortunately, we’ve got a presale link for you:
The 16 strong tracklist features these classic gems:
So F**king Rock
Inflatable You
Rock ‘n’ Roll Nerd
Ten Foot Cock and a Few Hundred Virgins
If You Open Your Mind Too Much
Canvas Bags
If You Really Loved Me
Some People Have It Worse Than Me
You Grew On Me
Dark Side
Not Perfect
If you’re in Europe, they also offer Tim’s other albums – Ready For This? and Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra – for the same price, so if you’re a new fan of Tim’s, here’s your chance to catch up with his back catalogue!
As in previous years, all November, December and January profits from the sale of Tim’s sentimental Christmas song, White Wine In The Sun, will go to The National Autistic Society (NAS) which provides support, information and services for people with autism and their families and campaigns for “a better world for people with autism”.
Do you live somewhere other than the UK, Australia and North America?
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