Matilda star reveals big musical number was cut from movie
The cast worked on the sequence "for three or four months".
Matilda the Musical star Andrea Riseborough has revealed that a “big musical number” didn’t make it into the finished film.
Riseborough told RadioTimes.com that the cast worked on the sequence for the song Loud for “three or four months”, but the scene was eventually left on the cutting room floor.
The actress plays Matilda’s mother Mrs Wormwood in the upcoming adaptation of the hit stage show, which features songs by Tim Minchin and is based on the classic children’s novel by Roald Dahl.
She appears alongside Alisha Weir in the title role, with Line of Duty’s Stephen Graham playing her on-screen husband, Mr Wormwood.
The Wormwoods are disparaging of their talented daughter, an avid reader who loves stories, and pack her off to Crunchem Hall, the school presided over by the villainous Ms Trunchbull (played by Emma Thompson).
“There’s a big musical number that we shot [Loud] and which we worked on for three or four months, and which isn’t in the finished film,” she said.
“That’s often the case with a musical film but it was such a joy to do it and have that sort of fun.”
She added that “the film works without” the song.
Discussing the Wormwoods’ family dynamic when the cameras weren’t rolling, Riseborough said that she, Graham and Weir had “loads of giggles” despite dealing with some dark storylines.
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“We had such a laugh,” she said. “It was a very odd situation because we were being terribly mean to this very nice young actor Alisha daily, week in, week out.
“So it was important that we had loads of giggles in reality. We were working with so many brilliant kids and Roald Dahl’s story is pretty dark, which is also why it’s so hysterically funny because it reaches that place deep inside of you that really opens you up.
“It’s one of those stories that’s a real leveller and that’s why it’s been so popular, not just in British culture but also worldwide.”
Matilda the Musical also stars Lashana Lynch as Matilda’s much-loved teacher Miss Honey and Sindhu Vee as the librarian Mrs Phelps.
Additional reporting by Simon Button
Read more: Tim Minchin reveals why Matilda cast Emma Thompson as Miss Trunchbull
Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical will premiere in UK cinemas on 25th November, and will be released on Netflix in the US.
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