Tim's Here!

Annoyingly I was struck down with a dreaded spring cold just as the schedule really ramped up at Matilda, and various circumstances typically meant I had to work every show and rehearsal hour going. My body is definitely yearning for the forthcoming holidays for a proper reset! Although I think a fair amount of not feeling 100% has been the four months away from my own flat - my own bed. Once I got back for the first time last week I could feel myself starting to properly recover.

Still, none of this is a surprise considering the sheer relentlessness a tour like Matilda can bring. Don’t get me wrong, it is SO much fun going into work, with every day bringing a new surprise. Take last Thursday: we had spent all day Wednesday opening the tour in Southampton, then had two more performances the following day (which included press night) only to discover that Tim Minchin was on a train to see the show and take us all out for a drink afterwards. The focus something like that brings couldn’t been timed more perfectly. We are quite content with our little show as it is right now, and to have that confirmed by him is the lift we need after a long few weeks on the road. That’s even before going on about just what a blooming lovely fella he is!

Three generations of the Corcoran family

As important for me, the tour was also visited one night in Manchester by my whole family. My dad, Chris, has appeared multiple times on the Palace Theatre stage. My sister and I were also in the children’s chorus for Evita with my dad back in 1995, and who knows, perhaps my niece will grace this stage at some point? She was seeing Matilda the Musical for the first time and I hear that, following a backstage tour, she was particularly interested in what the Deputy Stage Manager gets up to at the prompt desk, with its myriad of buttons and screens, so perhaps a backstage technical role is her calling! Either way, another very special night at the show for me.

We have two more weeks in Southampton before our own half term holiday, but look out for us on TV later this month. And next week our new tranche of kids get underway with rehearsals in Birmingham, so as ever it’s non stop! The next stop is another great city - Bristol. See you there?