Matilda The Musical has taken inspiration from its heroic miniature leading lady and launched a competition challenging children to become creative writers, imaginative playwrights and avid readers, just like Matilda herself.
The national writing challenge is open to children aged between eight and 13 and invites young budding wordsmiths to create a short scene or song for a brand new character of their invention to be revealed on Matilda’s first day at the terrifying Crunchem Hall.
Six winners will be selected by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), the acclaimed theatre company behind the show, and will be performed by the West End cast at a very special performance of their work on 11 June to be attended by the winners and their classes.
If that wasn’t exciting enough, the winners and their friends will also win tickets to that evening’s performance of the Olivier Award-winning musical, while 10 highly commended entries will receive family tickets to The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre.
The competition was launched today as part of a new online resource for teachers, offering schools and teachers and insight into the creative process of staging the West End musical.
As well as the show’s existing education packs, teachers can now download comprehensive teacher notes and watch filmed interviews with the show’s creators Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin. The RSC has also announced new Teacher Professional Development days, which will provide teachers with practical approaches to creative writing using Matilda The Musical as a springboard.
Catherine Mallyon, Executive Director at the RSC, said: “It’s clear from all the work we already do with schools that young people are just bursting with brilliant ideas and we’re delighted that Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin are such an integral part of this campaign to encourage children’s creativity. We hope as many young people as possible will want to try their hand at script and song-writing and we’re really looking forward to seeing the results.”
All entries must be submitted by teachers by 23 April. Full information on how to get involved and the competition’s terms and conditions can be found at www.matildawritenow.org.uk