Matilda The Musical marks 15 years in the West End as Tim Minchin looks back

Matilda The Musical is celebrating 15 years in London's West End, and its writers remain a little stunned. Composer and lyricist Tim Minchin and book writer Dennis Kelly stepped out at the Cambridge Theatre to open a 15th anniversary performance with a speech from the stage, captured in a video released by Official London Theatre on 19 October 2026.

The Royal Shakespeare Company production, based on the novel by Roald Dahl, began as a Christmas show in Stratford upon Avon in 2010 and has played the Cambridge Theatre ever since it arrived in London.

When did the West End run begin?

The 15 years count from the opening West End preview at the Cambridge Theatre on 25 October 2011, which makes Sunday 25 October 2026 the exact anniversary. The show officially opened on 24 November 2011. It had premiered at the RSC's temporary Courtyard Theatre in Stratford upon Avon, where previews began on 9 November 2010 ahead of an opening on 9 December 2010.

In the anniversary video, the pair reflect on the show's long run in London before the curtain goes up.

What did Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly say about 15 years?

Speaking to BBC News on 23 October 2026, Minchin admitted he remains amazed by how far the show has travelled. "Probably the biggest family musical of this century is written by [us] couple of idiots," he joked.

He traced the moment they realised they had something special back to Stratford. "We saw it on stage at the first preview in Stratford and we thought, 'Ah, hold on a minute'," he said. He also put the show's staying power down to its message: "It says to kids, stand up for what's right. Be brave, reading and stories are freedom, your family is where you find it, love conquers all, little girls are powerful. It's hard to feel cynical about it."

Kelly told the BBC that neither of them expected a global hit. "If we'd made a successful show at Stratford, we'd have been delighted," he said. "I just remember the first night... the audience going crazy and I just wasn't ready for it all. I was standing at the back, I wasn't even sitting in a seat and I just wasn't ready for it and I just thought, 'This is weird'."

Jacqui O'Hanlon, deputy executive director of the RSC, added: "None of us could have guessed that it would be the global phenomenon that 16 years later we're still talking about."

13 million audience members and the 10th longest-running West End musical

The milestones come from the RSC itself. On 1 October 2025, as the show entered its fifteenth year in London, the RSC said it had become the 10th longest-running musical in West End history and had given more than 10,000 performances worldwide. In its cast announcement of 16 July 2026, the RSC said the show had now been seen by 13 million audience members in over 100 cities across the world, repeated that its 15th year in London makes it the 10th longest-running musical in West End history, and put its tally at 101 international awards including 25 for Best Musical.

Those awards include seven Olivier Awards in 2012, among them Best New Musical, which set a Guinness World Record for the most Olivier wins by a musical.

Who is in the cast in year 15?

Jon Robyns continues as Miss Trunchbull, and Matt Corner and Amy Ross joined as Mr and Mrs Wormwood from 15 September 2026. Lola Judd, Scarlett Lindsey and Sachie Sheridan joined existing performer Sithuni Gamage in the title role from the same date.

Lucy St. Louis takes over as Miss Honey from January 2027, after Eve Norris's final performance on 17 January 2027. St. Louis returns from maternity leave to take up the role.

Away from London, the second major UK and Ireland tour opened at Leicester Curve on 6 October 2025 and is due to conclude in Cardiff this winter into 2027.