Adam Stafford on his role in Matilda: ‘It’s the best bit isn’t it, being the baddie?’
To kick off our theatre special, Kelly Apter ventured south to witness one of the 21st century’s finest new musicals. She chats to some of the grown-up stars of Matilda and hears about young pranksters, glorious harmonies and the pure joy of being a baddie
Chomping on an apple as he enters the room, Scotty Armstrong looks around for a bin. It’s a couple of hours before curtain up at Liverpool’s Empire Theatre and he’s squeezing in this interview, and a snack, before costume and make-up. Several scoured corners later, he finally finds one and deposits the core, but it’s clear this is a man who doesn’t give up easily. Born in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Armstrong’s talent was first spotted by his high school drama teacher, who said he had ‘something that should be nurtured’. Fast forward through many youth theatre productions and three years of drama school later, and Armstrong found himself at the Cambridge Theatre in London’s West End, eagerly awaiting his first viewing of Matilda The Musical.
‘It got to the end of act one and I was in love with it,’ recalls Armstrong. ‘But then a company doing roadworks outside accidentally drilled through power cords and everything went dark. I was devastated because it was one of the best things I’d ever seen. But I managed to go back to see it the following summer and just loved it again.’ His perseverance continued when it came to auditioning for a part in the show, trying to snag the dual role of Russian mobster Sergei and a children’s party entertainer (while also serving as understudy for beastly headteacher, Miss Trunchbull).
‘I auditioned for the national tour in 2017 but it didn’t work out for me,’ says Armstrong. ‘And I auditioned a few more times, and again it just didn’t happen. But I think it was an age thing, because I auditioned again for this tour and I got it. I knew it would come to me when the time was right.’ Incidentally, the Trunchbull role comes good just a week after we meet, when Armstrong took to the stage for the first time in this coveted part.
That tenacity may not be reflected in everyone, but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who, having seen it, didn’t feel the same love for the show. Based on Roald Dahl’s story, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and book by Dennis Kelly, Matilda The Musical has been pulling in crowds worldwide since its 2010 premiere. The witty, engaging and empowering storyline does some of the heavy lifting, but it’s the musical numbers that thump your heart with their glorious harmonies.
‘There are a lot of offstage vocals, so even if we’re not on stage we’re adding to the sound,’ explains Armstrong. ‘One of my favourite parts is when Matilda is telling the story of the escapologist and we create a whole sound wall backstage. We start in unison and then gradually it builds into this big, beautiful harmonic piece.’ As a baritone, Armstrong contributes a strong foundation to that wall of sound, while songs such as ‘When I Grow Up’ and ‘Revolting Children’ bring the audience to tears and riotous applause.
And we’re not the only ones enjoying ourselves. ‘It sounds awful, but with some shows, when you’re performing them eight times a week, you can sometimes think “here we go again”,’ he admits. ‘But there’s never a moment during Matilda where that’s the case; it’s exciting every single time. And it changes for us adults constantly, because of the variation of young actors on stage.’ The talented children playing Matilda and her classmates change on a regular basis to comply with employment law, keeping the adults, including those taking on the roles of Matilda’s self-absorbed parents, on their toes. The Wormwoods are played on this tour by Adam Stafford and Rebecca Thornhill. ‘It’s lovely because each young actor brings something totally different,’ says Thornhill, ‘and you just bounce off whatever they give you.’ And what about off-stage? ‘Some of them are hysterical,’ she laughs, recalling wing-side banter from the previous night. ‘Some of them are cheekier than others and come out with brilliant stuff.’
‘It keeps it fresh,’ agrees Stafford. ‘I love working with children. I started acting when I was seven, and at nine I did my first film, Peter Pan, with Mia Farrow and Danny Kaye, so it takes me back to being that age. It’s magical for these young actors, particularly a story like this because Dahl empowers children and this lot just lap it up.’ While Stafford and Thornhill may love and admire their co-stars, their characters unequivocally do not, forever taunting Matilda for her bookish ways. What’s it like to play loathsome parents to such a sweet girl? ‘Wonderful! I like to put a spanner in the works,’ laughs Stafford. ‘It’s the best bit isn’t it, being the baddie?’ His partner in crime nods in agreement. ‘Playing the baddie is always fun,’ says Thornhill. ‘And the nicer the show, the nastier you can be.’
Given how morally bankrupt Mr Wormwood is, it seems like a backhanded compliment to say it’s a role Stafford was born to play. But even those close to him could see how well he’d inhabit the part. ‘I got a call from someone in my family who saw the show in London,’ recalls Stafford. ‘And they said “we’ve just come out of Matilda and there’s a part in it that could have been written for you”. So I mentioned it to my agent, and he rang me a week later to say “you won’t believe this: they’re auditioning for the UK tour”. I’d never even seen the show, but as soon as I got the part, I watched it in London and thought it was brilliant. It really captures the essence of Dahl and doesn’t shy away from the dark side or the cheekiness.’
Matilda The Musical, Edinburgh Playhouse, Wednesday 4–Sunday 22 March; Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Wednesday 18 November–Saturday 5 December; Matilda stage pictures: Manuel Harlan.