Characters / Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical

Wormwood Family

Matilda Wormwood

Played by: Alisha Weir

• Little Miss Badass: She has the guts to say no to the Trunchbull and she eventually uses her powers to defeat her and free the school from her tyranny.

Harry Wormwood and Mrs. Wormwood

Played by: Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough

• Abusive Parents: Mostly of the emotional variety, as they usually ignore Matilda and when they don't, they usually insult her and Harry even calls her a "he" several times due to wanting a boy. Harry does get a little bit physical when he throws Matilda to the floor of her room when she calls him a cheat.

Crunchem Hall

Jennifer Honey

Played by: Lashana Lynch

• Race Lift: Is white in the book, 1996 movie and musical, but is portrayed by a black actress here.

Agatha Trunchbull

Played by: Emma Thompson

• 0% Approval Rating: No one, not even the teachers, seem to like her. When the children revolt after she is defeated, the Teachers can be seen ransacking her office and throwing their hats and papers around.
• Big Bad: She is the brutal dictatorial principal of Crunchem Hall who terrorises the students and comes into conflict with Matilda when the girl finally says no to her.
• Card-Carrying Villain: When Ms. Honey calls out Trunchbull's teaching methods as cruelty, Trunchbull replies with a Blunt "Yes" and says that she finds it fun.
• Gender Swap: An interesting example. Trunchbull is traditionally a Cross-Cast Role in the musical. Not so much here, where she's played by Emma Thompson.
• Putting on the Reich: This version of the story emphasizes the dictator aspect of the character more than the other versions do. She dresses like some sort of military officer and she has cameras all over the school.

Bruce Bogtrotter

Played by: Charlie Hodson-Prior

• Break the Cutie: After Trunchbull puts him in Chokey after he finished the entire chocolate cake, even though she said he'd be absolved of his crimes If he did, he becomes a personal assistant to her and looks noticeably worn down and depressed. He gains his spirit back after Trunchbull is defeated and he leads the rest of the school to revolt.

Lavender

Played by: Rei Yamauchi Fulker

• Nice Girl: Has a nice demeanor and is the first person who Matilda makes friends with at the school.

Hortensia

Played by:Meesha Garbett

• Adaptational Attractiveness: Had a boil on her nose in the novel, here, she's quite cute.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: While she is far more aggressive towards Matilda and Lavender than she is in the 1996 movie, she doesn't outright mock them like she did in the novel.
• Creepy Child: Downplayed, but she makes a throat slitting gesture towards Matilda and Lavender after she and the other kids sing about the Chokey to them.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's intially aggressive towards Matilda and her friends, and outright tells Nigel he's doomed after he is accused of pouring treacle on Trunchbull's chair. But ultimately, she isn't a bad kid and she's even among the students who begs for Matilda to stay when her parents come to pick her up and move to Spain.

The Prefects

• Conditioned to Accept Horror: They've been at Crunchem Hall long enough to not be fazed too much by the crap that goes around. They still seem to be scared of Trunchbull however.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Much like Hortensia, none of them seem to be bad kids (Though they do seem to enjoy scaring Matilda and Lavender just a little) they just seem to have dealt with the Trunchbull for so long, they've become very cold and aloof. They can also be seen participating in the Children's Revolt and are seen getting along with the other kids at the end of the film
• Tough Love: While they're definitely harsh to Matilda and Lavender, they're just trying to prepare them for the reality of Crunchem Hall's tough environment and keep them from incurring Trunchbull's wrath for their own good.

Other Chracters

Mrs. Phelps

Played by: Sindhu Vee

• Race Lift: In the novel and 1996 film, she's caucasian, while in the musical she was black. In this film, she's Indian.

The Escapologist (Spoiler Character)

Magnus Honey

Played by: Carl Spencer

The Acrobat (Spoiler Character)

Mrs. Honey

Played by: Lauren Alexandra

• Death by Childbirth: Zigzagged. She passes away after giving birth to her daughter, Jennifer, but it's largely due to the injuries she sustained in the dangerous circus act.