Tim Minchin
Tim Minchin is an Australian composer, performer and comedian, born in 1975. He was born in the UK, but has spent most of his life in Australia.
He came to prominence by performing musical comedy, singing humorous songs and accompanying himself on piano. As his popularity grew, his shows expanded to include a full orchestra and he has performed in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, The O2 Arena and Sydney Opera House.
Minchin has had many acting roles in films and television programmes, and many musical theatre roles, including playing Judas in an arena tour of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Jesus Christ Superstar.
As well as performing in musicals, Tim Minchin has written the music for two musicals - Matilda and Groundhog Day. Both were first performed in the UK鈥檚 West EndAn area in London which is home to large theatres known to produce world-class levels of theatre performance. and were shown on BroadwayA prominent area for plays and musicals in Manhatten, New York, with many theatres in a small area., New York.
Matilda the Musical and Naughty
Tim Minchin was asked to write the music and lyrics for a Matilda musical by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The musical opened in Stratford-Upon-Avon in 2010, eventually transferring to the West End, London in 2011 and Broadway, New York, in 2013.
Matilda is the story of a young girl who has the power of telekinesis. She protects her friends from the school鈥檚 headteacher, Agatha Trunchbull, and uses it against her unkind parents.
The pit bandThe collection of instrumentalists that sit below the stage to provide the live music in a musical or play. on Broadway is considered to be large. The current orchestration is broken down according to instrumental group in the table below.
Strings | Woodwind | Brass | Percussion | Electric |
violin | flute | trumpet | drum kit | electric guitar |
viola | alto saxophone | trombone | timpani | bass guitar |
cello | tenor saxophone | bass trombone | bongos | two keyboards |
double bass | clarinet | glockenspiel | synthesizer | |
bass clarinet | gong | |||
handheld percussion |
Strings | violin |
---|---|
Woodwind | flute |
Brass | trumpet |
Percussion | drum kit |
Electric | electric guitar |
Strings | viola |
---|---|
Woodwind | alto saxophone |
Brass | trombone |
Percussion | timpani |
Electric | bass guitar |
Strings | cello |
---|---|
Woodwind | tenor saxophone |
Brass | bass trombone |
Percussion | bongos |
Electric | two keyboards |
Strings | double bass |
---|---|
Woodwind | clarinet |
Brass | |
Percussion | glockenspiel |
Electric | synthesizer |
Strings | |
---|---|
Woodwind | bass clarinet |
Brass | |
Percussion | gong |
Electric |
Strings | |
---|---|
Woodwind | |
Brass | |
Percussion | handheld percussion |
Electric |
The song Naughty starts with Matilda reading books - her favourite hobby - before expressing her frustration at the unfortunate endings of the Jack and Jill, and Romeo and Juliet stories. She suggests that stories don鈥檛 have to be followed word by word and that they can be changed. Matilda expresses great energy as she sings about being naughty. For example, she picks up her mother鈥檚 hair-dye and adds it to her father鈥檚 hair-oil - a mischievous act. Naughty is a lively and cheeky song that perfectly reflects the action on the stage.