Just sick of it all.

I love the film Miss Trunchball - Matilda was my favourite childhood book. I agree men often play the character and it's worked fine in theatre versions I've seen. Matilda as a transgirl no! No need at all

I suspect we conclude this was a child with an unusually deep voice, and we don’t know their sex. As the age of an actor playing Matilda is surely before a boy’s voice would have broken?

Just to revive this thread, my two DSs went to see this last night with a family member and this morning when we were listening to the original cast soundtrack I said "was it as good as this last night" and DS2 said yes, although it sounded different because Matilda was played by a boy. I asked if DS1 thought so too and if so, how they both knew and they shrugged and said "she just was a boy - you could hear in the singing" and then concluded that maybe they "couldn't find a girl who was good enough" 🤦🏼‍♀️

Oh do bugger off, seppo.

I actually agree with Marg <spots flying pig> (partially - KF don't just 'doxx transpeople' you know) - bit off to say someone is trans if you don't know?

I'm not sure how you know the Matilda actress (or one of them at least since there are 4) is trans, I couldn't find anything on Google.

However if the actress really is trans do you think, given they are a child, it's a good idea to make a fuss about it publicly in a negative light when we have websites like kiwifarms who doxx transpeople and their parents?

You could potentially be putting this child at risk of harm.

Well since the OP hasn’t returned we shall never know why she thought this!

If it were true, I wouldn’t care. I quite enjoyed an all female Romeo and Juliet where yes, even Romeo was played by a woman.

Well I was assuming that too but it's a weird auto correct and you would think it would be common knowledge if the lead role in Matilda was being played by a boy.

Matt-Tilda sounds like one of those dodgy adult pantomimes but I assume OP didn't take her DD to that.

the funny thing is that the main character isnt played by a trans girl but yall hate trans people so much you can always tell, right?

Little boys and girls aren't very different in terms of build, as I'm sure you know. A biologically male trans child can pass relatively easy as a girl. That isn't the case with biologically male adults.

Don't know why I'm bothering to explain this, but I thought I'd humour the poster by pretending he/she/they is posting in good faith.

Are you saying it was Matilda?

Or something called Matt-Tilda?

‘Y’all’?

I thought cultural appropriation was one of all ‘y’all’s’ big no-nos? 🙄

the funny thing is that the main character isnt played by a trans girl but yall hate trans people so much you can always tell, right?

The funny thing is the main character isnt played by a trans girl but I love how much you hate trans people so much you can always tell, right?

This is the current cast according to London Theatre...

I saw the same cast of Matilda in the summer. Matilda’s voice really threw me, and I ended up looking up the person playing this part, but I couldn’t find any evidence they weren’t a biological girl.
DS commented that Matilda is supposed to be a 5yo girl, but sounded like a grown man.

There is quite a strict height limit on Matilda auditions. My average height dd wouldn't qualify (she checked the minute we got home!) Obviously I know shorter boys exist but it would be hard I think to find a boy that fit the bill at the right age to belt out the songs.

There are other female characters traditionally played by men. e.g. Tracey Turnblad's mother in Hairspray.

Similarly principal boys are played by girls in pantomime.

I'm pretty sure it's not correct, I went recently and read about all the girls playing Matilda, no mention of any of them being trans.

I thought it was inherently transphobic to find male bodies in any way intimidating or imposing or threatening just because they are male? So it's interesting that this casting of Miss Trunchbull has this assumption as its basis.

It's not particularly difficult to cast a tall, solidly built, imposing woman. Come on theatre directors, do it.

Actually, it is quite difficult for musical theatre. MT needs triple threat performers (trained to a high level in acting, dancing, singing). Females who train professionally as dancers tend not to have bigger physiques; there is still a lot of prejudice in the dance world about "larger" dancers, and entry to MT training courses is fiercely competitive as it is.

It would be helpful if @CousinGregg could come back to the thread and tell us how they came by this information, because I really don't think this is correct.

Theatre is very woke. If the RSC had cast a transgirl in Matilda, they would be celebrating that publicly. There was certainly plenty of positive publicity when (entirely reasonably) they introduced colour-blind casting and the first black girl played Matilda.

Matilda is played by a trans girl?

I had no idea. I obviously did about Ms Trunchbull.

Weird to have them cast in the same show, one presumably as a joke, drag act and the other not.

www.salon.com/2013/10/27/the_dangerous_transphobia_of_roald_dahls_matilda/ apparently