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Matilda the Musical Reviews:

Matilda is a gem. On its debut at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Stratford-upon-Avon home last winter, it looked a show of rare inventiveness and charm. Now, as it bursts onto the London stage, it seems every bit as enchanting - a winter warmer but with a nice side-order of surrealism. At the heart of this satisfyingly fresh adaptation of a cherished Roald Dahl story are Australian comedian Tim Minchin's music and lyrics, which ooze humour without veering towards smugness.

Verdict: ***** Henry Hitchings for the Evening Standard (read the full review here)

Dennis Kelly, who has adapted Roald Dahl’s famous story for the stage, has previously been responsible for some of the most violent and depressing plays I have ever endured. Here, in a spectacular transformation, he has discovered joy, humour and tenderness, and his script actually improves and deepens Dahl’s original.

Meanwhile, Aussie comedian Tim Minchin has come up with a smashing score that combines take-home melodies with delicious lyrical wit in songs that consistently develop both the plot and our understanding of the characters. There is an exuberant sense here of two writers who have clicked together – and magnificently expanded their range.

Verdict ***** Charles Spencer for The Telegraph (read the full review here)

It's hard to imagine a show capturing the spirit of Roald Dahl's literary world more perfectly than this one. From the instant a gaggle of boisterous brats explodes on to the stage singing "My mummy says I'm a miracle", the story of Matilda – a child prodigy unwanted by her odious parents – is brought colourfully, messily, musically to life by Matthew Warchus's production. Comedian Tim Minchin and writer Dennis Kelly, authors of the music/lyrics and book respectively, evidently had a blast adapting it – the stage fizzes with naughtiness and classic Dahl putdowns.

Imogen Carter for The Observer (read the full review here)

Baddies always have the best fun. The villain in this stonking musical treatment of Roald Dahl’s Matilda is Miss Agatha Trunchbull, headmistress, sadist and sometime Olympic Games hammer thrower. Miss Trunchbull has a front larger than Selfridges. Her bra is not just an over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder. It may have been engineered by Brunel. And her wart! All twitchy and hairy and big enough to snag a lasso. Here is a character to terrify tiddlers as much as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s child catcher did 40 years ago.

Verdict: ***** Quentin Letts for The Daily Mail (read the full review here)