document_title: Matilda the Musical

question_text: who plays miss honey in matilda the musical

question_tokens: who plays miss honey in matilda the musical

text: Matilda the Musical

text: Productions[edit]

text: Stratford-upon-Avon[edit]

text: In 2009, the Royal Shakespeare Company announced its intention to stage a musical adaptation of Matilda, engaging Dennis Kelly as playwright, Tim Minchin as the composer and lyricist, Matthew Warchus as director, Chris Nightingale as orchestrator and music supervision, Rob Howell as set designer and Paul Kieve as illusionist and special effects creator.[7] The musical (originally titled Matilda, A Musical) opened at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, on 9 December 2010 following previews from 9 November.[8] The show was choreographed by Peter Darling. Bertie Carvel played Miss Trunchbull, with Paul Kaye and Josie Walker as Matilda's parents Mr and Mrs Wormwood, and Lauren Ward as Miss Honey.[9][10] Three young actresses, Adrianna Bertola, Josie Griffiths and Kerry Ingram, alternated in the title role.[11][12] The show ended its premiere engagement on 30 January 2011.[1]

text: London[edit]

text: In 2011, the musical received its West End debut (under the new title of Matilda the Musical) at London's Cambridge Theatre. The show was originally scheduled to begin previews on 18 October 2011, but because of structural and installation work at the theatre, the start of the performances was delayed until 25 October. The opening night was postponed from 22 November to 24 November.[13] The musical opened in London to uniformly positive reviews; Kaye and Carvel received high praise for their performances.[14][15] Many of the principal adult cast from the Stratford run reprised their roles in London. Eleanor Worthington Cox, Cleo Demetriou, Sophia Kiely and Kerry Ingram—the only one to reprise her role from Stratford—rotated in the title role.

text: In October 2011, Matilda won Best Musical and Best Actor (Bertie Carvel) in the Theatre Awards UK,[16] and in November 2011 it won the Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical as part of The Evening Standard Awards.[17] The production was nominated in all 10 categories for which it was eligible at the 2012 Olivier Awards. The 'Four Matildas' performed "Naughty" at the awards show. Matilda won 7 Oliviers: Best New Musical, Best Director (Warchus), Best Actor in a Musical (Carvel), Best Actress in a Musical (all four Matildas), Best Theatre Choreographer (Darling), Best Set Design (Howell) and Best Sound Design (Baker). This was a record number for any show in the event's 36-year history.[3]

text: In April 2012, Steve Furst and Haley Flaherty took over the roles of Mr. Wormwood and Miss Honey from Kaye and Ward. Two of the original London Matildas (Ingram and Kiely) were replaced by Jade Marner and Isobelle Molloy (Molloy originally played Amanda in the original London cast before being cast as Matilda). Bertie Carvel left in July 2012 and the role of Miss Trunchbull was filled by David Leonard, although he did not start until the main cast change in August because of injury. At this cast change four new girls took over as Matilda; Lucy-Mae Beacock, Hayley Canham, Chloe Hawthorn and Lara Wollington.[18][19]

text: On 19 November 2012, the London cast were invited to perform at the 100th "Royal Variety Performance" for television station ITV which was broadcast live on 3 December.[20] They performed "When I Grow Up" and "Naughty" with Chloe in the lead role, with the other 3 girls appearing in the announcement of the performance.[21]

text: In March 2013, Hayley Canham left the show and was replaced as Matilda by Elise Blake and Cristina Fray. Lucy-Mae Beacock left in early May 2013. The next cast change occurred in September 2013. This time most of the adult cast changed, along with Chloe Hawthorn who left on 1 September. Two new Matildas—Lollie McKenzie and Georgia Pemberton—started the following week. Lara Wollington stayed for another four weeks, finishing on 29 September—making her run the longest of any Matilda, and she held that title until October 2017.[citation needed]

text: The cast opened[22] the 2013 Children in Need appeal.[23] They performed a medley, with Georgia as Matilda.

text: Of the Matildas only Lollie McKenzie stayed during the cast change in March 2014. This cast change started with the departure of Elise Blake on 9 March along with other child cast members. She was replaced by Tasha Chapple. Fray and Pemberton were replaced by two new Matildas, Cara Jenkins and Lottie Sicilia, who debuted in the role in the following weeks, on 18 March and 25 March respectively.

text: McKenzie and Jenkins departed the show on 7 September and 5 October. Two new Matildas—Matilda Shapland and Violet Tucker—debuted in the roles on 09 and 19 September. Shapland was previously in Les Misérables, while Tucker had her West End debut in the title role. Of the Matildas only Shapland and Tucker stayed during the cast change in March 2015.[citation needed] This cast change started with the departure of Tasha Chapple and Lottie Sicilia along with other child cast members. They have been replaced by Anna-Louise Knight and Lara McDonnell. Over September 2015, Tucker and Shapland departed the show and were replaced by Evie Hone and Lizzie Wells.[citation needed] On 27 January 2016, three new Matildas - Clara Read, Emily-May Stephenson and Zaris-Angel Hator - were announced and joined Hone in the role in March. In late September 2016 it was confirmed that Hone would be leaving along with Stephenson after her relatively short stint.[citation needed] The two girls would be replaced by two new Matildas - Sara Sheen and Abbie Vena. Both of whom, Sara on 13 September (also Roald Dahl day) and Abbie on 22 September, made their Matilda debut.

text: On 21 December 2016 the 7:30pm performance was cancelled due to multiple illnesses in the cast, including principal child performers and their understudies. Because of this Lara McDonnell and Emily May Stephenson (both past Matildas) came back to cover the few performances 22–24 December.[24][25] This illness coincided with similar incidents at nearby musicals Dreamgirls[26] and Rent[27] which caused disruptions to their primary cast members, but it is unclear as to whether these events are linked or not.

text: On 2 March 2017, it was announced that from 14 March 2017 the lead role would be shared by Lillian Hardy, Emma Moore, Eva-Marie Saffrey, and Abbie Vena, upon the departure of Sheen, Hator, and Read.[28] This team had two public appearances. Abbie performed "Naughty" at West End Live on 24 June 2017, and Emma performed the same song on day two of West End Live on 25 June 2017. Hardy, Saffrey, and Vena departed the production on 12 September 2017.

text: On 5 September 2017, the RSC announced that three new girls would be stepping into the role of Matilda following the departure of Hardy, Saffrey, and Vena: Lily-Mae Evans, Kitty Peterkin, and Savannah Read. They join Emma Moore who is staying through the cast change. Additional cast changes include David Shannon as Miss Trunchbull, Gina Beck as Miss Honey, and Tom Edden and Marianne Benedict as Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood.[29] This team began performances on 12 September 2017. Past Matilda Abbie Vena, however, performed "Naughty" on CCBC’s Blue Peter on 19 October 2017 to accompany an interview with the new Matildas (Evans, Peterkin and Read), making her the longest running Matilda to date, having taken the title from Lara Wollington who also performed in the West End.

text: The next cast change was announced on 2 March 2018. Read and Evans would be continuing in the role of Matilda, while Peterkin and Moore were replaced by Sara Munday and Olivia Wells. Much of the children's cast also changed at this time. This new team began performances on 13 March 2018. Also at this time, the RSC announced a new online ticket lottery, giving audience members the opportunity to purchase "the best seats in the house" at reduced prices.

text: On 28 May 2018, the London cast was invited to perform on Britain’s Got Talent. They performed a medley of songs from the show, including “Naughty” and “Revolting Children”, and received a standing ovation. Lily-Mae played the role of Matilda in this performance.

text: Broadway[edit]

text: On 29 February 2012, the RSC announced the show would transfer to Broadway in spring 2013;[30] it would still be set in England despite initial pressure for the show to be Americanised.[31] On 19 July 2012, it was announced that the show would open on 11 April 2013 at the Shubert Theatre,[32] with previews commencing on 4 March 2013.[33] Bertie Carvel and Lauren Ward reprised their roles as Miss Trunchbull and Miss Honey.[34][35] Ted Wilson also continued as Eric. A four girl cast consisting of Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon, and Milly Shapiro played the titular role of Matilda.

text: The transfer cost US$16 million to produce;[36] it opened as planned on 11 April 2013, with Sophia Gennusa playing the leading role.[37] Small changes were made from the London production; some lyrics were changed to suit American audiences[38] and more scenes used the orchestra pit/front stalls area of the theatre.[39] The Broadway production also introduced an overture and pre-show curtain, as of June 2013.

text: On 1 September 2013, Carvel and Ward played their final performances, Jill Paice joined the cast as Miss Honey and played her first performance on 3 September.[40] Craig Bierko took over as Miss Trunchbull on 17 September, after recovering from an injury.[41] In October 2013, Matilda broke the box office record for the Shubert Theatre.[42] On 19 November, it was announced that Bierko will not return to the role of Miss Trunchbull due to "medical circumstances", following a shoulder injury sustained during rehearsals. Chris Hoch, understudy for Miss Trunchbull, has been given a contract to perform the role for the duration of Bierko's absence into January.[43]

text: On 25 November 2013, The Wall Street Journal reported that the original Matildas would be bowing out "in the next two months".[44] On 11 December, it was announced that Paige Brady, Gabriella Pizzolo, Ripley Sobo and Ava Ulloa would take over the title role. Brady, Pizzolo and Ulloa were making their Broadway debuts; Sobo previously appeared in Once.

text: On 31 January 2014, it was reported that Christopher Sieber and Matt Harrington would be joining the company as Miss Trunchbull and Mr Wormwood, respectively. Harrington made his debut on 4 March. Sieber would initially join the company on 18 March[45] but, after sustaining a hand injury during rehearsals, would have his debut in the role sometime in April.[46][47] While Sieber recovered from his injury, understudy Ben Thompson played the role for a limited engagement. Sieber finally stepped into the role on 18 April.[48]

text: On 21 August 2014, it was reported that Tori Feinstein, Eliza Holland Madore, Brooklyn Shuck and Fina Strazza would take over the title role.[49] Feinstein and Strazza made their Broadway debuts; Madore and Shuck had previously appeared in Once and Annie, respectively. Strazza and Shuck debuted in the role on 24 and 31 August while Madore and Feinstein had their debuts on 7 and 14 September. The Broadway production recouped its $16 million investment in December after more than a year and a half.[50]

text: Between 4 and 26 July 2015, the production introduced four new girls, Mattea Conforti, Rileigh McDonald, Mimi Ryder, and Alexandra Vlachos, in the title role. On 8 September, Allison Case, Amy Spanger, Rick Holmes, and Natalie Venetia Belcon joined the production as Miss Honey, Mrs. Wormwood, Mr. Wormwood, and Mrs. Phelps, taking over Alison Luff, Lesli Margherita, Matt Harrington, and Karen Aldridge.[51]

text: In April and May 2016, three new girls, Ava Briglia, Willow McCarthy, and Aviva Winick were cast in the title role. Lesli Margherita and Karen Aldridge also returned to reprise their roles as Mrs. Wormwood and Mrs. Phelps, respectively. In December 2016, it was announced that Winick had sustained an injury and would not be continuing with the rest of her run. Former Matilda Tori Feinstein rejoined the cast for the remaining run time.

text: The Broadway production closed on 1 January 2017 after 1,555 performances.[52]

text: US National Tour[edit]

text: On 1 June 2013, Tim Minchin announced during an interview that the show was preparing for a US national tour. Minchin said, "We just got it up in New York, there’s a touring version that is meant to be going on in America...".[53] Once again produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Dodgers, the tour began technical rehearsals and performances in May 2015 at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before its official launch on 7 June at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California.[54][55] Announced stops included the SHN Orpheum Theare in San Francisco, California, the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, Washington, the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, Texas, the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, DC, and the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Florida.[56] The cast was announced on 21 April 2015.[57] Three girls would alternate in the lead role: Mia Sinclair Jenness, Gabby Gutierrez, and Mabel Tyler. Gutierrez and Tyler made their tour debuts; Jenness had appeared in the Original Broadway Cast and 25th Anniversary Tour of Les Misérables. Other principal cast members included Jennifer Blood as Miss Honey, Bryce Ryness as Miss Trunchbull, and Quinn Mattfeld and Cassie Silva as Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood.

text: The national tour of Matilda had its first official performance on 7 June 2015 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Mia Sinclair Jenness played the title role. On 15 June 2015, the three Matildas along with Tim Minchin performed on Conan.[58] On 29 November 2015, Jenness left the touring cast and was replaced by former Broadway Matilda Tori Feinstein on 5 December 2015. Shortly after, it was announced that three new girls would be stepping into the role of Matilda: Lily Brooks O'Briant, Savannah Grace Elmer, and Sarah McKinley Austin. Matilda was the tour debut for both Elmer and Brooks; Austin had previously toured with Once. Tyler, Feinstein, and Gutierrez bowed out over the next few weeks, with Tyler playing her last performance on 20 December, Feinstein departing on 28 December, and Gutierrez ending her run on 10 January 2016. Elmer, Brooks, and Austin debuted on 19 December 2015, 2 January 2016, and 9 January 2016, respectively. This second cast concluded touring on 26 June 2016, with the tour scheduled to resume again later for another six months.

text: After the closing of the Toronto production of Matilda, the cast went directly into the 2017 touring season.[59] Hannah Levinson, Jaime MacLean, and Jenna Weir played Matilda until Levinson left the cast on 12 February 2017, and was replaced by former tour Matilda Gabby Gutierrez. Other lead roles were played by Paula Brancati (Miss Honey), Dan Chameroy (Miss Trunchbull), Keisha T. Fraser (Mrs. Phelps), Brandon McGibbon (Mr. Wormwood), and Darcy Stewart (Mrs. Wormwood). The tour launched on 12 January 2017 at the Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The US National Tour took its final bow on 25 June 2017 at the Chapman Music Hall in Tulsa, OK.

text: Australian and New Zealand Tour[edit]

text: Sydney: In July 2013, Minchin said that an Australian production is planned for 2015.[60] The production, produced by Louise Withers,[61] had preview performances from 28 July before opening at the Sydney Lyric theatre on 20 August 2015.[62][63] The ticketing release date (October 2014) was announced at Pier 2/3 in Walsh Bay, with Minchin, International Executive Producer André Ptaszynski, NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner and Sydney press in attendance.[64] The cast included Marika Aubrey and Daniel Frederiksen as Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood, Elise McCann as Miss Honey and James Millar as Miss Trunchbull.[65] Sasha Rose (12), Georgia Taplin (11), Molly Barwick (10) and Bella Thomas (13) shared the title role with Thomas playing Matilda on the opening night.[66][67][68] The Sydney season ended on Sunday 29 February with Georgia Taplin playing the title role, before transferring to Melbourne.

text: Melbourne: For the Melbourne season, Dusty Bursill, Alannah Parfett, Tiana Mirra and Ingrid Torelli were announced to rotate playing the title role. On 3 January, Sydney Matilda Bella Thomas was injured and Parfett began her run early in Sydney, covering Thomas until she was better and joining the girls in a rotation until the end of the Sydney run. Mirra and Torelli made their debuts in Sydney's final week on 24 and 27 February respectively. The show opened at Melbourne's Princess Theatre on 13 March and was extended to perform until 11 November 2016. Some of the Sydney child cast members reprised their roles for selected performances in Melbourne; for example, certain performances featured Molly Barwick as Matilda and Ryan Kepper as Bruce.

text: Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland: A new season was announced to start in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Auckland. Izellah Connelly, Annabella Cowley, Venice Harris, Eva Murawski rotated the leading role of Matilda. The Matilda tour continued on to Brisbane from 25 November 2016 to 12 February 2017 at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) before moving on to perform at the Crown Theatre in Perth from 28 February until 7 May 2017 and from 21 May to 16 July 2017 at the Adelaide Festival Theatre in South Australia. The show ran in at the Civic Theatre in Auckland until 22 October 2017. Lucy Maunder was initially scheduled to take on the role of Miss Honey from McCann beginning the Brisbane leg.[69] However, due to Maunder's pregnancy, the transition was postponed until 20 March 2017 midway through the Perth leg.[70][71]

text: Toronto[edit]

text: After the successful launches of Once and the Tony Award-winning Kinky Boots, Mirvish Productions chose to open a Canadian production of Matilda the Musical. The company opened at the Ed Mirvish Theatre beginning in July 2016, closing on 7 January 2017. Hannah Levinson, Jenna Weir, and Jaime MacLean rotated playing the title role. In October 2016, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and family attended a performance.

text: UK and Ireland tour[edit]

text: On 11 April 2017, a tour was announced to begin at Curve, Leicester from 5–24 March 2018 before touring to Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin (4 - 28 April), Sunderland Empire (8 May - 2 June), Milton Keynes Theatre (5 - 30 June), Birmingham Hippodrome (3 July - 8 September), Manchester Palace Theatre (18 September - 24 November) and Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff (4 December - 12 January 2019). Further venues are to be announced.[72][73] On 17 October 2017, the adult cast was announced, to include Craige Els as Miss Trunchbull, Carly Thoms as Miss Honey, Sebastien Torkia as Mr Wormwood and Rebecca Thornhill as Mrs Wormwood.[74] On 16 January 2018, the children’s cast was announced, with the role of Matilda being shared between Annalise Bradbury, Lara Cohen, Poppy Jones and Nicola Turner .[75]. The tour officially opened as scheduled on 5 March 2018 at the Curve theatre in Leicester, with Poppy Jones in the title role on opening night. The tour completed its Leicester run on 24 March 2018. On 4 April 2018, the tour opened at the Bord Gais Theatre in Dublin, with Jones again playing the leading role. This run marked Matilda the Musical's Irish debut.

text: Philippines[edit]

text: Matilda had its Asian premiere[76] in the Philippines on 10 November 2017. The production closed on 10 December 2017. This production was the first licenced production; it was not produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, and has no links to the original production. The show featured Esang de Torres, Uma Martin, and Felicity Kyle Napuli alternating the title role. The Manila production also had a 16-child strong cast alternating 8 other student roles.

text: Korea[edit]

text: In July 2017, Seensee Company announced they would be producing a production of Matilda the Musical in September 2018. The production will be in arrangement with the RSC and be the first non-English version of Matilda produced.[77]

text: Synopsis[edit]

text: Act I[edit]

text: As a chorus of children boast about being their parents' miracles, the ballroom dancing obsessed Mrs. Wormwood gives birth to a baby girl called Matilda. The doctor thinks Matilda is the most beautiful child he has ever seen, but Mrs. Wormwood is only worried about a dancing contest she has missed. Similarly shallow, Mr. Wormwood—a used-car salesman and television addict—dismisses the child when he realizes she is a girl ('Miracle'). Five years later, Matilda is an avid reader and lives unhappily with her parents and her older, gormless brother Michael. The Wormwoods are oblivious to her genius and frequently mock and verbally abuse her. Matilda adds some of her mother's hydrogen peroxide to her father's hair oil, leaving Mr. Wormwood with bright green hair ('Naughty').

text: At the local library Matilda tells Mrs. Phelps a story about a world-famous acrobat and escapologist couple who long to have a child but cannot. To distract themselves from their sadness they announce to the world's press that they will perform an exciting and dangerous new act. The next day is Matilda's first day at school ('School Song'). Her teacher Miss Honey is impressed by Matilda's precociousness and ability, so she recommends that Matilda is moved to the top class with the older children ('Pathetic'). However, the child-hating, disciplinarian headmistress Miss Trunchbull dismisses Miss Honey's suggestion and lectures her on the importance of following rules ('The Hammer').

text: At the Wormwood's house, Mr. Wormwood is frustrated about losing a sale of worn-out cars to a group of rich Russians. He takes his frustration out on Matilda and destroys one of her library books, prompting her to put superglue around the rim of his hat and fix it to his head. At school, Matilda learns of Miss Trunchbull's cruel punishments, including Chokey: a tiny cupboard lined with sharp objects in which she locks disobedient children for hours ('Chokey Chant'). Matilda sees Miss Trunchbull spin a small girl around by her pigtails and throw her across the playing field. Meanwhile, Miss Honey decides to visit the Wormwoods to express her recommendation that Matilda be put in an advanced class. She meets Mrs. Wormwood and her dance partner Rudolpho. It soon becomes apparent that Mrs. Wormwood does not care about her daughter's intelligence, and she mocks Miss Honey and Matilda's interest in books and intellect ('Loud'). Alone outside the Wormwood's house, Miss Honey is desperate to help Matilda but feels powerless to do so ('This Little Girl').

text: Matilda tells Mrs. Phelps more about the acrobat and the escapologist. The acrobat's sister, a former world champion hammer-thrower who loved to scare small children, has arranged their performance. The escapologist announces that the performance has been cancelled because the acrobat is pregnant. The crowd is thrilled but the acrobat's sister is furious at the prospect of refunding the crowd's money and produces a contract binding them to perform the act or go to jail. At school, Bruce Bogtrotter, a boy in Matilda's class, has stolen a slice of Miss Trunchbull's personal chocolate cake. Miss Trunchbull punishes Bruce by forcing him to eat the entire cake in front of the class, who bravely support him ('Bruce'). After Bruce has finished the cake, the class celebrates his success but Miss Trunchbull drags Bruce away to the Chokey.

text: Act II[edit]

text: Mr. Wormwood advises the audience against reading in favour of watching television ('Telly'). Lavender, a girl in Matilda's class, tells the audience that she is going to put a newt in Miss Trunchbull's jug of water later on in the show. The children gather and sing about their hopes for when they grow up ('When I Grow Up'). Matilda resolves to end Miss Trunchbull's cruelty. She tells Mrs. Phelps more of the story of the acrobat and the escapologist. Bound by their contract, they perform their feat, which goes well until the last moment when the acrobat is fatally injured, living just long enough to give birth to a girl. The escapologist invites the acrobat's sister to move in with him to help look after his daughter. Unknown to the escapologist, the girl's aunt is secretly cruel to her, forcing her to perform menial tasks and abusing her verbally and physically.

text: Mr. Wormwood returns home from work pleased because he has sold his worn-out cars to the wealthy Russians, having used an automatic drill to wind back their speedometers. Matilda is annoyed at her father's deceit and scolds him, which angers him and he locks her in her bedroom. That night, Matilda continues the story of the acrobat and the escapologist. After years of cruelty, the aunt's rage has grown; one day she beats the child, locks her in the cellar and goes out. That evening, the escapologist returns home early and discovers the extent of the aunt's cruelty. As he comforts his daughter, he promises her he will always be there for her. Filled with rage, he runs out to find the aunt but is never seen again ('I'm Here').

text: The next day, Miss Trunchbull forces Miss Honey's class to undergo a gruelling physical education lesson ('The Smell of Rebellion'). Miss Trunchbull discovers the newt in her jug; she accuses one of the boys, Eric, who has already riled her during the lesson. She starts to punish him. Matilda scolds Miss Trunchbull for being a bully. Miss Trunchbull verbally abuses Matilda, but Matilda discovers she can move objects with her mind ('Quiet'). She tips over the water jug and the newt lands on Miss Trunchbull, and climbs up her leg. After Miss Trunchbull leaves Matilda demonstrates her powers to Miss Honey, who is surprised and invites Matilda to her house for tea. On the way Matilda admits that her father is not proud of her and calls her names.

text: Miss Honey tells Matilda of her cruel and abusive aunt, who looked after her as a child after her parents died. When Miss Honey first became a teacher, her aunt produced a bill detailing everything Miss Honey consumed as a child, along with other expenses, and forced her to sign a contract binding her to pay it all back. Desperate to escape, Miss Honey found refuge in an old farm shed which she moved into and lives in abject poverty. Despite this, Miss Honey finds beauty in her meagre living conditions ('My House'). As Miss Honey tells her story, she produces a scarf which Matilda recognises from her story of the acrobat and the escapologist—which she realises is the true story of Miss Honey's childhood, and that her wicked aunt is Miss Trunchbull.

text: Back at school, Miss Trunchbull forces the children to take a spelling test; anyone who misspells a word will be sent to Chokey. The children fail to misspell a single word, so Miss Trunchbull invents a word in order to be able to punish Lavender. As Lavender is about to be taken to Chokey, her classmates deliberately misspell simple words, telling her she cannot send them all to Chokey. However, Miss Trunchbull has built many more Chokeys. Matilda uses her powers to write on the blackboard and convinces Miss Trunchbull that it is the ghost of Miss Honey's father, demanding that she gives his daughter back her house or he will get her. Miss Trunchbull runs from the school screaming and the children celebrate their freedom ('Revolting Children').

text: At the library, Miss Honey and Mrs. Phelps relay the aftermath of the events. A few days after Miss Trunchbull ran away, Miss Honey's parents' will has been found; they left all their money and their house to her. Miss Trunchbull is never seen again and Miss Honey becomes the new headmistress of the school. Matilda cannot use her powers again and Miss Honey is sad that a child who has helped others this way is stuck in an unloving home. The Wormwoods arrive at the library in a panic, telling Matilda that she must leave with them because they are fleeing to Spain. The wealthy Russians Mr. Wormwood was dealing with are the Russian Mafia, who are unhappy about being sold broken cars. Miss Honey asks if Matilda can stay with her, but the mafia arrive before a decision can be made. Sergei, the head of the Mafia, is impressed and moved by Matilda's intellect and respect, and he agrees not to harm the Wormwoods providing he never has to deal with Mr. Wormwood again ('This Little Girl Reprise'). Mr. Wormwood agrees to let Matilda live with Miss Honey. ('When I Grow Up Reprise')

text: Musical numbers[edit]

text:
Act I

"Overture" – Orchestra
"Miracle" – Children, Party Entertainer, Doctor, Mrs. Wormwood, Mr. Wormwood, Matilda, Company
"Naughty" – Matilda
"Story 1: Once Upon A Time" – Matilda, Mrs. Phelps, Acrobat, Escapologist
"School Song" – Children, Older Children
"Pathetic" – Miss Honey
"The Hammer" – Miss Trunchbull, Miss Honey, Children
"The Chokey Chant" – Older Children
"Loud" – Mrs. Wormwood, Rudolpho, Company
"This Little Girl" – Miss Honey
"Story 2: The Great Day Arrived..." – Matilda, Mrs. Phelps, Escapologist, Acrobat's Sister
"Bruce" – Children

Act II

"Telly" – Mr. Wormwood, Michael
"Entr'acte" – Orchestra
"When I Grow Up" – Children, Miss Honey, Matilda, Company
"Story 3: The Trick Started Well..." – Matilda, Mrs. Phelps, Acrobat, Escapologist
"Story 4: I'm Here" – Matilda, Escapologist
"The Smell of Rebellion" – Miss Trunchbull, Children
"Quiet" – Matilda
"My House" – Miss Honey, Escapologist
"Revolting Children" – Children, Older Children
"This Little Girl" (reprise)# – Sergei
"When I Grow Up" (reprise) – All

text: #Not present on any of the cast recordings except the ITunes exclusive extended American cast recording

text: The instrumentation uses a ten-to-thirteen-piece orchestra, including keyboards, reeds, brass, strings and percussion.[78] The performances run 2 hours and 40 minutes, including one interval.[79][80] The "Overture" is included in the Broadway production only while the "Entr'acte" was only used in the London production where it has now been cut apart from the final bars which lead into "When I Grow Up".

text: Orchestration[edit]

text:
A comparison between the Stratford, West End and Broadway orchestrations

Stratford
West End
Broadway

Reed 1 : Flute, Alto Saxophone, Clarinet
Reed 2 : Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet

Reed 1 : Flute, Alto Saxophone, Clarinet
Reed 2 : Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet

Reed 1 : Flute, Alto Saxophone, Clarinet
Reed 2 : Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet

Trumpet 1 (doubling Flugelhorn)
Trumpet 2 (doubling Cornet, Flugelhorn)
Trombone (doubling Bass Trombone)

Trumpet 1 (doubling Flugelhorn, Piccolo Trumpet)
Trumpet 2 (doubling Cornet, Piccolo Trumpet)
Trombone (doubling Bass Trombone)

Trumpet 1
Trumpet 2
Trombone (doubling Bass Trombone)

Percussion

Drum Kit/Percussion

Drum Kit/Percussion

Guitars
Cello
Bass Guitar/Double Bass

Guitars
Cello
Upright Bass/Electric Bass

Guitars
Violin I
Violin II
Viola (doubling Violin III)
Cello
Bass

2 Keyboards

2 Keyboards

2 Keyboards

text: Recordings[edit]

text: The cast album recorded by the original Stratford company was released on CD in September 2011 and a month later as a Digital Download. It features a hidden spoken track which follows "When I Grow Up" (Reprise). This is the full version speech that is heard in part, before, during and after "Quiet" in the show[81]

text: A new Original Broadway cast album was released on 22 September 2013 as a CD.[82] This contains more tracks than the UK recording and includes "The Chokey Chant". The deluxe version features Matilda's stories of the Acrobat and the Escapologist, the song "Perhaps a Child" sung by Sergei, which was cut from the show early on in the Stratford previews due to time constraints, and "Naughty" with all four Broadway Matildas singing.[citation needed]

text: Principal roles and original cast members[edit]

text:
Character
Original Stratford Cast
[83][84]
Original West End Cast
[85][86]
Original Broadway Cast
[87][88][89][90]
Original Australian Cast
[65][66][67]
First US National Tour Cast
[55][91]
Original Toronto Cast
[92][93]

First UK and Ireland Tour Cast
[74][75]

Matilda Wormwood
Adrianna Bertola
Josie Griffiths
Kerry Ingram
Cleo Demetriou
Eleanor Worthington Cox
Sophia Kiely
Kerry Ingram
Sophia Gennusa
Oona Laurence
Bailey Ryon
Milly Shapiro[94]
Molly Barwick
Sasha Rose
Georgia Taplin
Bella Thomas[66]
Gabby Gutierrez
Mia Sinclair Jenness
Mabel Tyler[91]
Hannah Levinson
Jaime Maclean
Jenna Weir [92]
Annalise Bradbury
Lara Cohen
Poppy Jones
Nicola Turner

Miss Agatha Trunchbull
Bertie Carvel
James Millar[65]
Bryce Ryness[91]
Dan Chameroy [92]
Craige Els

Jennifer Honey
Lauren Ward
Elise McCann[65]
Jennifer Bowles[91]
Paula Brancati [92]
Carly Thoms

Mr. Wormwood
Paul Kaye
Gabriel Ebert[94]
Daniel Frederiksen[65]
Quinn Mattfeld[91]
Brandon McGibbon
Sebastien Torkia

Mrs. Wormwood
Josie Walker
Lesli Margherita[94]
Marika Aubrey[65]
Cassie Silva[91]
Darcy Stewart
Rebecca Thornhill

Michael Wormwood
Peter Howe
Taylor Trensch[94]
Daniel Raso
Danny Tieger
Darren Burkett
Matthew Caputo

Mrs. Phelps
Melanie La Barrie
Karen Aldridge[94]
Cle Morgan
Ora Jones
Keisha T. Fraser
Michelle Chantelle Hopewell

Rudolpho
Michael Rouse
Phillip Spaeth
Travis Khan
Jaquez André Sims
Stephen Diaz
Matt Gillett

The Escapologista
Matthew Malthouse
Ben Thompson[94]
Glenn Hill
Justin Packard
Steffan Lloyd-Evans

Sergei
Alistair Parker
John Sanders[94]
Stephen Anderson
Ian Michael Stuart
Eric Craig
Adam Vaughan

Henchmen
Marc Antolin
Nick Searle
Thayne Jasperson
Ryan Steele
Andrew Cook
Eli Cooper
John Michael Fiumara
Darius Wright
Swing
to be announced

Henchwoman
did not appear
Lucy Thatcher
Tamika Sonja Lawrence
Nadia Komazec
Rachel Cole
Shonica Gooden
to be announced

The Acrobat
Emily Shaw
Samantha Sturm[94]
Cristina D'Agostino
Wesley Fauncher
Kim Sava
Emily Bull

Teacher
Michael Rouse
Tim Walton
does not appear
to be announced

Doctor
Michael Rouse
Tim Walton
John Arthur Greene
Reece Budin
Ian Michael Stuart
Justin Packard
Peter Bindloss

Party Entertainer
does not appear
John Sanders
Stephen Anderson
Jaquez André Sims
Stephen Diaz
Adam Vaughan

Bruce Bogtrotter
Kuan Frye
Jake Bailey
James Beesley
Jake Bailey
James Beesley
Zachary Harris
Jack Broderick [94]
Anthony Abrakmanov
Joshua Park
Ethan Puse
Jack Reason
Evan Gray
Aiden Bushey
Raphael Higgins-Humes
Elliot Stiff
Dylan Hughes (also plays Tommy)
Jaden Meek (also plays Tommy)

Lavender
Ruby Bridle
Rebecca Stoll
Misty May Tindall
Ruby Bridle
Jemima Eaton
Ellie Simons
Frenie Acoba [94]
Zoe Ingram
Ruby Lahoud
Shanice Lim
Kaci Walfall
Riley O'Donnell
Louella Asante-Owusu
Scarlett Weegram
Isobelle Chalmers (also plays Amanda)
Madeline Gilby (also plays Amanda)

Amanda Thripp
Katie Lee
Jadie-Rose Hobson
Lara Weaver
Lily Laight
Isobelle Molloy
Lucy May Pollard
Beatrice Tulchin [94]
Amber May
Paris Naumovski
Mei Yamada
Kayla Amistad
Isabella Stuebing
Kiana Dumbaya
Lyla Toplass
Isobelle Chalmers (also plays Lavender)
Madeline Gilby (also plays Lavender)

Nigel
Arthur Byrne
Adam Scotland
Jake Pratt
William Keeler
Alfie Manser
Jaydon Vijn
Jared Parker [94]
Ewan Herdman
Jacob Licastro
Regan Walker
Cal Alexander
Will Coombs
Sheldon Golding
Nicholas Seal
Jobe Hart (also plays Eric)
Harrison Wilding (also plays Eric)

Eric
Shivum Gupta
Jack Christou
Toby Murray
Toby Murray
Louis Suc
Ted Wilson
Ted Wilson [94]
Kyle Banfield
Joey Gadin
Callum Rogers
Aristotle Rock
Tanner Quirk
Alfie Murray
George Varley
Jobe Hart (also plays Nigel)
Harrison Wilding (also plays Nigel)

Alice
Jessica Daugirda
Ellie Simons
Annabel Parsons
Alicia Gould
Jemima Morgan
Annabel Parsons
Ava DeMary [94]
Abigail Adriano
Ayanda Dladla
Erika Palma
Cassidy Hagel
Abigail Nicholson
Tayah Marshall Brewster
Sophie Young

Hortensia
Jessica Adair
Daisy Brophy
Shyanne Sanders
Oonagh Cox
Fleur Houdijk
Katie Lee
Emma Howard [94]
Maya Arya
Eliza Carolan
Alyssa Goodall
Megan McGuff
Kendyl Ito
Daisy Sequerra
Maisy-May Woods-Smeeth

Tommy
Charlie Callaghan
Callum Henderson
Denzil Sampson
Thomas Atkinson
Jamie Kaye
Callum Henderson
Judah Bellamy [94]
Cody Ettingshausen
Leyton Holmes
Zyon Rangi
Meliki Hurd
Drew Davis
Shaquahn Crowe
Sam Lovelock
Dylan Hughes (also plays Bruce)
Jaden Meek (also plays Bruce)

text: ^ Role originally 'The Escapologist' in Broadway run but was later changed to 'The Escape Artist'.

text:
Matilda – Isobelle Molloy,[95] Chloe Hawthorn, Lara Wollington[96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105]
Mr Wormwood – Steve Furst[106]

text:
Matilda - Gabriella Pizzolo,[107] Brooklyn Shuck, Fina Strazza[49]
Miss Trunchbull – Craig Bierko,[108] Christopher Sieber[45][46][47]
Miss Honey – Jill Paice[108]
Mrs Phelps – Natalie Venetia Belcon[51]
Mr Wormwood – Matt Harrington[45]
Mrs Wormwood – Amy Spanger[51]
Michael Wormwood – Alex Brightman

text: Planned film adaptation[edit]

text: In June 2013, Tim Minchin said a future film adaption was being planned. Minchin said during an interview, "We just got [the show] up in New York, there's a touring version that is meant to be going on in America, concurrently the English version is up, there's a film that will probably be made in the next 4 or 5 years and all this sort of stuff."[53] Mara Wilson, who played Matilda in the original 1996 film adaptation of Dahl's novel, has expressed an interest in having a cameo in a film version if asked.[109] On 15 November 2013, in an article in the Daily Mail it was revealed that Dennis Kelly, who won the Tony for Best Book for Matilda, will write the movie's script,[110] with Minchin penning any additional music required and Warchus, returning to direct.[111] The movie will be released in 2019 at the earliest, due to a Broadway contract stipulating that any film version cannot be released before six years have expired following the show's opening there.[111]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: 2010 RSC Stratford production[edit]

text: Michael Billington, writing for The Guardian, gave the musical four stars out of five. He praised the adaptation of the book, the "ebullient music and lyrics", the direction, the stage design and the performances—especially Bertie Carvel as Miss Trunchbull.[112] The Independent also gave the show four out of five stars and said, "The Royal Shakespeare Company has struck gold with this wildly entertaining musical … Kelly's clever adaptation and the witty, intricate songs by ... Minchin create a new, improved version of Dahl's story ... Warchus's wondrously well-drilled production finds just the right balance between gleeful grotesque humour and heart-warming poignancy."[113]

text: Charles Spencer, writing for The Daily Telegraph awarded the show all five stars and praised the "splendidly witty, instantly hummable songs, dazzling choreography, a cast of impossibly cute and delightful children and a fantastic star turn from Bertie Carvel ... [Kelly's] script has both deepened the emotion of Dahl's story while adding loads of splendid jokes of his own", and concluded, "It is funny, heart-warming, and bang-on target".[114] Matt Wolf of The Arts Desk said: "I was struck by the sight of many a child grinning as openly as their adult companions were wiping away tears".[115] Henry Hitchings of the London Evening Standard also praised the performances, direction and design and commented on Minchin's "witty songs [in which] he switches between styles with remarkable dexterity". He continued, "There's a playfulness throughout [the book] that proves intoxicating ... In this lovingly created show, Matilda's magic positively sparkles. There's a cleverness in the writing which ensures that, while it appeals to children, there is plenty for adults to savour ... it's blissfully funny."[116]

text: London[edit]

text: The reviews of the London performances were also very positive.[117] Julie Carpenter of the Daily Express awarded the show all five stars and called the musical "[g]loriously over the top", and said, "it's an irresistible and ingenious mix of fun, fizz, cruelty, incredible choreography and above all warmth which means we root for the kids from the start. Fantastic."[118] Henry Hitchings' review in the Evening Standard ranked the piece five stars, praising the music and lyrics, book, set design, choreography, direction and performances.[119] The review in The Guardian said, "You'd be a nitwit to miss this hit show."[120] The only complaint in Quentin Letts' five-star review in the Daily Mail was about "overdone amplification".[121] The Stage also gave Matilda five stars,[122] as did Spencer, writing again for The Telegraph. Confirming his impression of the 2010 production, he wrote about the West End transfer:

text: "I suspect it will delight audiences for years to come ... [Kelly's] script actually improves and deepens Dahl's original ... [Minchin's] smashing score ... 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 ... [Matilda] so wittily excoriates the cruelty and crassness of our age ... Warchus’s thrilling, warm-hearted production, exuberantly designed by Rob Howell and with pin-sharp choreography by Peter Darling, constantly combines comedy with a sense of wonder. The children [and the adult performances are 'hilarious' (Bailey), 'memorable' (Walker and Kaye) and 'touchingly sweet' (Ward)] ... But the star turn is Bertie Carvel".[123]

text: The Financial Times, The Times and The Sunday Times each awarded the show four stars out of five, but found little to criticise.[117] Ben Brantley, writing for The New York Times, called the adaptation "a sweet and sharp-witted work of translation, which ... turns dark and sodden anxieties into bright and buoyant fantasies [that address] a raging thirst these days for [such] tonics".[124] A year after the show opened, Time Out gave the production four stars out of five, noting the departure of Carvel and calling the show "a little too long and, dramatically, a tad wayward", but nevertheless "wise, wicked, glorious fun."[125]

text: New York[edit]

text: Most of the New York critics gave the Broadway transfer their highest marks. Brantley wrote: "Matilda works with astonishing slyness and grace to inculcate us with its radical point of view. [It] is about words and language, books and stories, and their incalculable worth as weapons of defense, attack and survival ... Above all it’s an exhilarating tale of empowerment". He also said the child actors "strengthen their diction" so that the "tasty lyrics" could be clearly heard.[126] Richard Zoglin, in Time magazine said that the show is "a fresh start for the Broadway musical" with "a score that seems all but woven into the scenery—simple but distinctive tunes ... intricate lyrics ... Every element of the show seems hand-crafted and right". He said that director Warchus "lets the characters go gloriously over the top (the way children see them), but also brings a hushed intensity". He also said that the second act "runs a bit too long" and that "the combination of shrill child voices, British accents and heavy miking causes many of the lyrics to get muddled".[127] Elisabeth Vincentelli's review in the New York Post said, "Once in a blue moon, a show comes out blazing and restores your faith in Broadway. Matilda The Musical is that show."[128] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter said the stage show captured "the unique flavor of Roald Dahl’s classic 1988 children’s novel", and added,"this funhouse fairy tale is by turns riotous and poignant, grotesque and menacing, its campy comic exaggeration equaled only by its transporting emotional power".[129]

text: David Cote, in Time Out New York wondered whether the show was too English for Broadway tastes; he wrote, "Matilda is a kids' musical, not a musical that happens to be about a kid. As such, its attractions may be limited to younger spectators and die-hard Dahl fans. That would be a pity, since Matilda is wickedly smart and wildly fun".[130] A review in USA Today said the show tries too hard to be clever, but it is affecting and enchanting.[131] Of the British papers reviewing the transfer, The Telegraph gave the show four stars out of five, and said, "There's a harder-edged quality to the New York staging: the general tenor is louder and more exaggerated, and the Gilbertian finesse of [the] astonishing lyrics didn't translate for my companion ... But the tremendous heart and intelligence of the piece remains undimmed."[132] A review by Brendan Lemon in the Financial Times also gave the piece four stars out of five.[133]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text: London production[edit]

text:
Year
Award Ceremony
Category
Nominee
Result
Ref

2011
Critics' Circle Theatre Awards
Best Musical
Won
[134]

Theatre Awards UK
Best Musical
Won
[135]

Best Performance
Bertie Carvel
Won

Evening Standard Awards
Best Musical
Won
[136]

Best Actor
Bertie Carvel
Nominated

Best Director
Matthew Warchus
Nominated

British Composer Awards
Best Stage Work
Tim Minchin
Nominated[137]
[138]

2012
Whatsonstage.com Awards
Best New Musical
Won[139]
[140]

Best Actor in a Musical
Bertie Carvel
Nominated[141]

Best Actress in a Musical
Cleo Demetriou
Kerry Ingram
Eleanor Worthington Cox
Sophia Kiely
Nominated[141]

Best Supporting Actor in a Musical
Paul Kaye
Nominated[141]

Best Supporting Actress in a Musical
Lauren Ward
Nominated[141]

London Newcomer of the Year
Tim Minchin
Won[142]

Best Choreographer
Peter Darling
Won[142]

Best Director
Matthew Warchus
Nominated[141]

Best Set Designer
Rob Howell
Won[142]

Laurence Olivier Awards
Best New Musical
Won[143]
[144]

Best Actor in a Musical
Bertie Carvel
Won[143]

Best Actress in a Musical
Cleo Demetriou
Kerry Ingram
Eleanor Worthington Cox
Sophia Kiely
Won[143]

Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical
Paul Kaye
Nominated[143]

Best Director
Matthew Warchus
Won[143]

Best Theatre Choreographer
Peter Darling
Won[143]

Best Set Design
Rob Howell
Won[143]

Best Costume Design
Nominated[143]

Best Lighting Design
Hugh Vanstone
Nominated[143]

Best Sound Design
Simon Baker
Won[143]

2013
Whatsonstage.com Awards
Best West End Show
Nominated[145]
[146]

Laurence Olivier Awards
Audience Award for Most Popular Show
Nominated[147]
[148][149]

2014
Whatsonstage.com Awards
Best West End Show
Won[150]
[151]

text: Broadway production[edit]

text:
Year
Award Ceremony
Category
Nominee
Result
Ref

2013
Tony Award
Best Musical
Nominated
[152][153]

Best Book of a Musical
Dennis Kelly
Won

Best Original Score
Tim Minchin
Nominated

Best Actor in a Musical
Bertie Carvel
Nominated

Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Gabriel Ebert
Won

Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Lauren Ward
Nominated

Best Direction of a Musical
Matthew Warchus
Nominated

Best Choreography
Peter Darling
Nominated

Best Orchestrations
Christopher Nightingale
Nominated

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Rob Howell
Won

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Nominated

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Hugh Vanstone
Won

Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre
Sophia Gennusa
Oona Laurence
Bailey Ryon
Milly Shapiro
Won[154]

Drama League Awards
Outstanding Production of a Broadway or off-Broadway Musical
Nominated
[155]

Distinguished Performance Award
Bertie Carvel
Nominated

Outer Critics Circle Awards
Outstanding New Broadway Musical
Nominated
[156]

Outstanding Book of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Won

Outstanding Choreographer
Peter Darling
Nominated

Outstanding Set Design (Play or Musical)
Rob Howell
Won

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Bertie Carvel
Nominated

Drama Desk Award
Outstanding Musical
Won
[157]

Outstanding Book of a Musical
Dennis Kelly
Won

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Bertie Carvel
Won

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Matthew Warchus
Nominated

Outstanding Choreography
Peter Darling
Nominated

Outstanding Lyrics
Tim Minchin
Won

Outstanding Set Design
Rob Howell
Won

New York Drama Critics' Circle
Best Musical
Won[158]
[158]

Theatre World Award
Bertie Carvel
Won[159]
[159]

2014
Grammy Award
Best Musical Theater Album
Bertie Carvel, Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon, Milly Shapiro & Lauren Ward (principal soloists); Michael Croiter, Van Dean & Chris Nightingale (producers); Tim Minchin (composer and lyricist)
Nominated

text: Australian production[edit]

text:
Year
Award Ceremony
Category
Nominee
Result
Ref

2015
Sydney Theatre Awards
Best production of a mainstream musical
Won
[160]

Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a musical
Elise McCann
Won

Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a musical
Marika Aubrey
Nominated

Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a musical
James Millar
Won

Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a musical
Daniel Frederiksen
Nominated

Special achievement award
Molly Barwick
Sasha Rose
Georgia Taplin
Bella Thomas
Won

2016
Helpmann Awards
Best Musical
Won
[161]

Best Original Score
Tim Minchin
Won

Best Direction of a Musical
Matthew Warchus
Won

Best Female Actor in a Musical
Molly Barwick
Dusty Bursill
Tiana Mirra
Alannah Parfett
Sasha Rose
Georgia Taplin
Bella Thomas
Ingrid Torelli
Won

Best Male Actor in a Musical
James Millar
Won

Best Choreography in a Musical
Peter Darling
Won

Best Music Direction
Stephen Amos
Won

Best Sound Design
Simon Baker
Won

Best Scenic Design
Rob Howell
Won

Best Costume Design
Won

Best Lighting Design
Hugh Vanstone
Won

Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical
Daniel Frederiksen
Won

Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical
Elise McCann
Won

Green Room Awards
Outstanding Music Theatre Award for Production
Won
[162]

Music Theatre Award for Direction
Matthew Warchus
Won

Betty Pounder Award for Excellence in Choreography
Peter Darling
Won

Music Theatre Award for Musical Direction/Supervision
Stephen Amos
Won

Music Theatre Award for Sound Design
Simon Baker
Won

Music Theatre Award for Costume Design
Rob Howell
Won

Music Theatre Award for Set Design
Won

Music Theatre Award for Lighting Design
Hugh Vanstone
Won

Music Theatre Award for Male in a Supporting Role
Daniel Frederiksen
Nominated

Music Theatre Award for Female in a Supporting Role
Elise McCann
Nominated

Music Theatre Award for Male Lead
James Millar
Nominated

Music Theatre Award for Female Lead
Dusty Bursill
Tiana Mirra
Alannah Parfett
Ingrid Torelli
Nominated

2017
Helpmann Awards
Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical
Lucy Maunder
Nominated
[163]


document_title: Dark Ages (historiography)

question_text: when did the dark ages start and finish

question_tokens: when did the dark ages start and finish

root

text: Dark Ages (historiography)

text: History[edit]

text: Petrarch[edit]

text: The idea of a Dark Age originated with the Tuscan scholar Petrarch in the 1330s.[14][12] Writing of the past, he said: "Amidst the errors there shone forth men of genius; no less keen were their eyes, although they were surrounded by darkness and dense gloom".[15] Christian writers, including Petrarch himself,[14] had long used traditional metaphors of 'light versus darkness' to describe 'good versus evil'. Petrarch was the first to give the metaphor secular meaning by reversing its application. He now saw Classical Antiquity, so long considered a 'dark' age for its lack of Christianity, in the 'light' of its cultural achievements, while Petrarch's own time, allegedly lacking such cultural achievements, was seen as the age of darkness.[14]

tag: p

text: From his perspective on the Italian peninsula, Petrarch saw the Roman and classical period as an expression of greatness.[14] He spent much of his time travelling through Europe, rediscovering and republishing classic Latin and Greek texts. He wanted to restore the Latin language to its former purity. Renaissance humanists saw the preceding 900 years as a time of stagnation, with history unfolding not along the religious outline of Saint Augustine's Six Ages of the World, but in cultural (or secular) terms through progressive development of classical ideals, literature, and art.

text: Petrarch wrote that history had two periods: the classic period of Greeks and Romans, followed by a time of darkness in which he saw himself living. In around 1343, in the conclusion of his epic Africa, he wrote: "My fate is to live among varied and confusing storms. But for you perhaps, if as I hope and wish you will live long after me, there will follow a better age. This sleep of forgetfulness will not last forever. When the darkness has been dispersed, our descendants can come again in the former pure radiance."[16] In the 15th century, historians Leonardo Bruni and Flavio Biondo developed a three-tier outline of history. They used Petrarch's two ages, plus a modern, 'better age', which they believed the world had entered. Later the term 'Middle Ages' - Latin media tempestas (1469) or  medium aevum (1604) - was used to describe the period of supposed decline.[17]

text: Reformation[edit]

text: During the Reformations of the 16th and 17th centuries, Protestants generally had a similar view to Renaissance Humanists such as Petrarch, but also added an Anti-Catholic perspective. They saw classical antiquity as a golden time, not only because of its Latin literature, but also because it witnessed the beginnings of Christianity. They promoted the idea that the 'Middle Age' was a time of darkness also because of corruption within the Roman Catholic Church, such as:  Popes ruling as kings, veneration of saints' relics, a celibate priesthood, and institutionalized moral hypocrisy.[18]

text: Baronius[edit]

text: In response to the Protestants, Catholics developed a counter-image to depict the High Middle Ages in particular as a period of social and religious harmony, and not 'dark' at all.[19] The most important Catholic reply to the Magdeburg Centuries was the Annales Ecclesiastici by Cardinal Caesar Baronius. Baronius was a trained historian who produced a work that the Encyclopædia Britannica in 1911 described as "far surpassing anything before"[20] and that Acton regarded as "the greatest history of the Church ever written".[21] The Annales covered the first twelve centuries of Christianity to 1198, and was published in twelve volumes between 1588 and 1607. It was in Volume X that Baronius coined the term "dark age" for the period between the end of the Carolingian Empire in 888[22] and the first stirrings of Gregorian Reform under Pope Clement II in 1046:

text:
Volumes of Patrologia Latina per century[23]

Century
Migne Volume Nos
Volumes

7th
80–88
9

8th
89–96
8

9th
97–130
34

10th
131–138
8

11th
139–151
13

12th
152–191
40

13th
192–217
26

tag: table

text: "The new age (saeculum) which was beginning, for its harshness and barrenness of good could well be called iron, for its baseness and abounding evil leaden, and moreover for its lack of writers (inopia scriptorum) dark (obscurum)".[24]

text: Significantly, Baronius termed the age 'dark' because of the paucity of written records. The "lack of writers" he referred to may be illustrated by comparing the number of volumes in Migne's Patrologia Latina containing the work of Latin writers from the 10th century (the heart of the age he called 'dark') with the number containing the work of writers from the preceding and succeeding centuries. A minority of these writers were historians.

text: There is a sharp drop from 34 volumes in the 9th century to just 8 in the 10th. The 11th century, with 13, evidences a certain recovery, and the 12th century, with 40, surpasses the 9th, something the 13th, with just 26, fails to do. There was indeed a 'dark age', in Baronius's sense of a "lack of writers", between the Carolingian Renaissance in the 9th century and the beginnings, some time in the 11th, of what has been called the Renaissance of the 12th century. Furthermore, there was an earlier period of "lack of writers" during the 7th and 8th centuries.  So, in Western Europe, two 'dark ages' can be identified, separated by the brilliant but brief Carolingian Renaissance.

text: Baronius's 'dark age' seems to have struck historians, for it was in the 17th century that the term started to proliferate in various European languages, with his original Latin term saeculum obscurum being reserved for the period he had applied it to. But while some, following Baronius, used 'dark age' neutrally to refer to a dearth of written records, others used it pejoratively, lapsing into that lack of objectivity that has discredited the term for many modern historians.

text: The first British historian to use the term was most likely Gilbert Burnet, in the form 'darker ages' which appears several times in his work during the later 17th century. The earliest reference seems to be in the "Epistle Dedicatory" to Volume I of The History of the Reformation of the Church of England of 1679, where he writes: "The design of the reformation was to restore Christianity to what it was at first, and to purge it of those corruptions, with which it was overrun in the later and darker ages."[26] He uses it again in the 1682 Volume II, where he dismisses the story of "St George's fighting with the dragon" as "a legend formed in the darker ages to support the humour of chivalry".[27] Burnet was a bishop chronicling how England became Protestant, and his use of the term is invariably pejorative.

text: Enlightenment[edit]

text: During the Age of Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries, many critical thinkers saw religion as antithetical to reason. For them the Middle Ages, or "Age of Faith", was therefore the opposite of the Age of Reason.[28] Kant and Voltaire were vocal in attacking the Middle Ages as a period of social regress dominated by religion, while Gibbon in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire expressed contempt for the "rubbish of the Dark Ages".[29] Yet just as Petrarch, seeing himself at the cusp of a "new age", was criticising the centuries before his own time, so too were Enlightenment writers.

text: Consequently, an evolution had occurred in at least three ways. Petrarch's original metaphor of light versus dark has expanded over time, implicitly at least. Even if later humanists no longer saw themselves living in a dark age, their times were still not light enough for 18th-century writers who saw themselves as living in the real Age of Enlightenment, while the period to be condemned stretched to include what we now call Early Modern times. Additionally, Petrarch's metaphor of darkness, which he used mainly to deplore what he saw as a lack of secular achievement, was sharpened to take on a more explicitly anti-religious and anti-clerical meaning.

text: Nevertheless, the term 'Middle Ages', used by Biondo and other early humanists after Petrarch, was in general use before the 18th century to denote the period before the Renaissance. The earliest recorded use of the English word "medieval" was in 1827. The concept of the Dark Ages was also in use, but by the 18th century it tended to be confined to the earlier part of this period. The earliest entry for a capitalized "Dark Ages" in the Oxford English Dictionary is a reference in Henry Thomas Buckle's History of Civilization in England in 1857.[1] Starting and ending dates varied: the Dark Ages were considered by some to start in 410, by others in 476 when there was no longer an emperor in Rome, and to end about 800, at the time of the Carolingian Renaissance under Charlemagne, or alternatively to extend through to the end of the 1st millennium.

text: Romanticism[edit]

text: In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Romantics reversed the negative assessment of Enlightenment critics with a vogue for medievalism.[30] The word "Gothic" had been a term of opprobrium akin to "Vandal" until a few self-confident mid-18th-century English "Goths" like Horace Walpole initiated the Gothic Revival in the arts. This stimulated interest in the Middle Ages, which for the following generation began to take on the idyllic image of an "Age of Faith". This, reacting to a world dominated by Enlightenment rationalism, expressed a romantic view of a Golden Age of chivalry.  The Middle Ages were seen with nostalgia as a period of social and environmental harmony and spiritual inspiration, in contrast to the excesses of the French Revolution and, most of all, to the environmental and social upheavals and utilitarianism of the developing Industrial Revolution.[31] The Romantics' view is still represented in modern-day fairs and festivals celebrating the period with 'merrie' costumes and events.

text: Just as Petrarch had twisted the meaning of light versus darkness, so the Romantics had twisted the judgment of the Enlightenment. However, the period they idealized was largely the High Middle Ages, extending into Early Modern times. In one respect, this negated the religious aspect of Petrarch's judgment, since these later centuries were those when the power and prestige of the Church were at their height. To many, the scope of the Dark Ages was becoming divorced from this period, denoting mainly the centuries immediately following the fall of Rome.

text: Modern academic use[edit]

text: The term was widely used by 19th-century historians. In 1860, in The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, Jacob Burckhardt delineated the contrast between the medieval 'dark ages' and the more enlightened Renaissance, which had revived the cultural and intellectual achievements of antiquity.[32] However, the early 20th century saw a radical re-evaluation of the Middle Ages, which called into question the terminology of darkness,[10] or at least its more pejorative use. The historian Denys Hay spoke ironically of "the lively centuries which we call dark".[33] More forcefully, a book about the history of German literature published in 2007 describes "the dark ages" as "a popular if ignorant manner of speaking".[34]

text: Most modern historians do not use the term "dark ages", preferring terms such as Early Middle Ages.  But when used by some historians today, the term "Dark Ages" is meant to describe the economic, political, and cultural problems of the era.[35][36]  For others, the term Dark Ages is intended to be neutral, expressing the idea that the events of the period seem 'dark' to us because of the paucity of the historical record.[10] The term is used in this sense (often in the singular) to reference the Bronze Age collapse and the subsequent Greek Dark Ages,[1] the dark ages of Cambodia (c. 1450-1863), and also a hypothetical Digital Dark Age which would ensue if the electronic documents produced in the current period were to become unreadable at some point in the future.[37] Some Byzantinists have used the term "Byzantine Dark Ages" to refer to the period from the earliest Muslim conquests to about 800,[38] because there are no extant historical texts in Greek from this period, and thus the history of the Byzantine Empire and its territories that were conquered by the Muslims is poorly understood and must be reconstructed from other contemporaneous sources, such as religious texts.[39][40] The term "dark age" is not restricted to the discipline of history. Since the archaeological evidence for some periods is abundant and for others scanty, there are also archaeological dark ages.[41]

text: Since the Late Middle Ages significantly overlap with the Renaissance, the term 'Dark Ages' has become restricted to distinct times and places in medieval Europe. Thus the 5th and 6th centuries in Britain, at the height of the Saxon invasions, have been called "the darkest of the Dark Ages",[42] in view of the societal collapse of the period and the consequent lack of historical records. Further south and east, the same was true in the formerly Roman province of Dacia, where history after the Roman withdrawal went unrecorded for centuries as Slavs, Avars, Bulgars, and others struggled for supremacy in the Danube basin, and events there are still disputed. However, at this time the Arab Empire is often considered to have experienced its Golden Age rather than Dark Age; consequently, usage of the term must also specify a geography. While Petrarch's concept of a Dark Age corresponded to a mostly Christian period following pre-Christian Rome, today the term mainly applies to the cultures and periods in Europe that were least Christianized, and thus most sparsely covered by chronicles and other contemporary sources, at the time mostly written by Catholic clergy.[citation needed]

text: However, from the later 20th century onwards, other historians became critical even of this nonjudgmental use of the term, for two main reasons.[10] Firstly, it is questionable whether it is ever possible to use the term in a neutral way: scholars may intend this, but ordinary readers may not understand it so. Secondly, 20th-century scholarship had increased understanding of the history and culture of the period,[43] to such an extent that it is no longer really 'dark' to us.[10] To avoid the value judgment implied by the expression, many historians now avoid it altogether.[44][45]

text: Modern popular use[edit]

text: Science historian David C. Lindberg criticised the public use of 'dark ages' to describe the entire Middle Ages as "a time of ignorance, barbarism and superstition" for which "blame is most often laid at the feet of the Christian church, which is alleged to have placed religious authority over personal experience and rational activity".[46] Historian of science Edward Grant writes that "If revolutionary rational thoughts were expressed in the Age of Reason, they were made possible because of the long medieval tradition that established the use of reason as one of the most important of human activities".[47] Furthermore, Lindberg says that, contrary to common belief, "the late medieval scholar rarely experienced the coercive power of the church and would have regarded himself as free (particularly in the natural sciences) to follow reason and observation wherever they led".[48] Because of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire due to the Migration Period a lot of classical Greek texts were lost there, but part of these texts survived and they were studied widely in the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate. Around the eleventh and twelfth centuries in the High Middle Ages stronger monarchies emerged; borders were restored after the invasions of Vikings and Magyars; technological developments and agricultural innovations were made which increased the food supply and population. And the rejuvenation of science and scholarship in the West was due in large part to the new availability of Latin translations of Aristotle.[49]

text: Another view of the period is reflected by more specific notions such as the 19th-century claim[50][51] that everyone in the Middle Ages thought the world was flat.[51][52] In fact, lecturers in medieval universities commonly advanced the idea that the Earth was a sphere.[53] Lindberg and Ronald Numbers write: "There was scarcely a Christian scholar of the Middle Ages who did not acknowledge [Earth's] sphericity and even know its approximate circumference".[54]  Other misconceptions such as: "the Church prohibited autopsies and dissections during the Middle Ages", "the rise of Christianity killed off ancient science", and "the medieval Christian church suppressed the growth of natural philosophy", are cited by Numbers as examples of myths that still pass as historical truth, although unsupported by current research.[55]


document_title: Pangaea

question_text: what were the names of the two smaller supercontinents that formed when pangaea broke apart

text: Pangaea

text: Origin of the concept

text: The name "Pangaea/Pangea" is derived from Ancient Greek pan (πᾶν, "all, entire, whole") and Gaia (Γαῖα, "Mother Earth, land").[5][10] The concept that the continents once formed a continuous land mass was first proposed by Alfred Wegener, the originator of the scientific theory of continental drift, in his 1912 publication The Origin of Continents (Die Entstehung der Kontinente).[11] He expanded upon his hypothesis in his 1915 book The Origin of Continents and Oceans (Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane), in which he postulated that, before breaking up and drifting to their present locations, all the continents had formed a single supercontinent that he called the "Urkontinent".

text: The name "Pangea" occurs in the 1920 edition of Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane, but only once, when Wegener refers to the ancient supercontinent as "the Pangaea of the Carboniferous".[12] Wegener used the Germanized form "Pangäa", but the name entered German and English scientific literature (in 1922[13] and 1926, respectively) in the Latinized form "Pangaea" (of the Greek "Pangaia"), especially due to a symposium of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in November 1926.[14]

text: Formation

text: The forming of supercontinents and their breaking up appears to have been cyclical through Earth's history. There may have been many others before Pangaea. The fourth-last supercontinent, called Columbia or Nuna, appears to have assembled in the period 2.0–1.8 Ga.[15][16] Columbia/Nuna broke up and the next supercontinent, Rodinia, formed from the accretion and assembly of its fragments. Rodinia lasted from about 1.1 billion years ago (Ga) until about 750 million years ago, but its exact configuration and geodynamic history are not nearly as well understood as those of the later supercontinents, Pannotia and Pangaea.

text: When Rodinia broke up, it split into three pieces: the supercontinent of Proto-Laurasia, the supercontinent of Proto-Gondwana, and the smaller Congo craton. Proto-Laurasia and Proto-Gondwana were separated by the Proto-Tethys Ocean. Next Proto-Laurasia itself split apart to form the continents of Laurentia, Siberia and Baltica. Baltica moved to the east of Laurentia, and Siberia moved northeast of Laurentia. The splitting also created two new oceans, the Iapetus Ocean and Paleoasian Ocean. Most of the above masses coalesced again to form the relatively short-lived supercontinent of Pannotia. This supercontinent included large amounts of land near the poles and, near the equator, only a relatively small strip connecting the polar masses. Pannotia lasted until 540 Ma, near the beginning of the Cambrian period and then broke up, giving rise to the continents of Laurentia, Baltica, and the southern supercontinent of Gondwana.

text: In the Cambrian period, the continent of Laurentia, which would later become North America, sat on the equator, with three bordering oceans: the Panthalassic Ocean to the north and west, the Iapetus Ocean to the south and the Khanty Ocean to the east. In the Earliest Ordovician, around 480 Ma, the microcontinent of Avalonia – a landmass incorporating fragments of what would become eastern Newfoundland, the southern British Isles, and parts of Belgium, northern France, Nova Scotia, New England, South Iberia and northwest Africa – broke free from Gondwana and began its journey to Laurentia.[17] Baltica, Laurentia, and Avalonia all came together by the end of the Ordovician to form a minor supercontinent called Euramerica or Laurussia, closing the Iapetus Ocean. The collision also resulted in the formation of the northern Appalachians. Siberia sat near Euramerica, with the Khanty Ocean between the two continents. While all this was happening, Gondwana drifted slowly towards the South Pole. This was the first step of the formation of Pangaea.[18]

text: The second step in the formation of Pangaea was the collision of Gondwana with Euramerica. By Silurian time, 440 Ma, Baltica had already collided with Laurentia, forming Euramerica. Avalonia had not yet collided with Laurentia, but as Avalonia inched towards Laurentia, the seaway between them, a remnant of the Iapetus Ocean, was slowly shrinking. Meanwhile, southern Europe broke off from Gondwana and began to move towards Euramerica across the newly formed Rheic Ocean. It collided with southern Baltica in the Devonian, though this microcontinent was an underwater plate. The Iapetus Ocean's sister ocean, the Khanty Ocean, shrank as an island arc from Siberia collided with eastern Baltica (now part of Euramerica). Behind this island arc was a new ocean, the Ural Ocean.

text: By late Silurian time, North and South China split from Gondwana and started to head northward, shrinking the Proto-Tethys Ocean in their path and opening the new Paleo-Tethys Ocean to their south. In the Devonian Period, Gondwana itself headed towards Euramerica, causing the Rheic Ocean to shrink. In the Early Carboniferous, northwest Africa had touched the southeastern coast of Euramerica, creating the southern portion of the Appalachian Mountains, the Meseta Mountains and the Mauritanide Mountains. South America moved northward to southern Euramerica, while the eastern portion of Gondwana (India, Antarctica and Australia) headed toward the South Pole from the equator. North and South China were on independent continents. The Kazakhstania microcontinent had collided with Siberia. (Siberia had been a separate continent for millions of years since the deformation of the supercontinent Pannotia in the Middle Carboniferous.)

text: Western Kazakhstania collided with Baltica in the Late Carboniferous, closing the Ural Ocean between them and the western Proto-Tethys in them (Uralian orogeny), causing the formation of not only the Ural Mountains but also the supercontinent of Laurasia. This was the last step of the formation of Pangaea. Meanwhile, South America had collided with southern Laurentia, closing the Rheic Ocean and forming the southernmost part of the Appalachians and Ouachita Mountains. By this time, Gondwana was positioned near the South Pole and glaciers were forming in Antarctica, India, Australia, southern Africa and South America. The North China block collided with Siberia by Late Carboniferous time, completely closing the Proto-Tethys Ocean.

text: By early Permian time, the Cimmerian plate split from Gondwana and headed towards Laurasia, thus closing the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, but forming a new ocean, the Tethys Ocean, in its southern end. Most of the landmasses were all in one. By the Triassic Period, Pangaea rotated a little and the Cimmerian plate was still travelling across the shrinking Paleo-Tethys, until the Middle Jurassic time. The Paleo-Tethys had closed from west to east, creating the Cimmerian Orogeny. Pangaea, which looked like a C, with the new Tethys Ocean inside the C, had rifted by the Middle Jurassic, and its deformation is explained below.

text: Evidence of existence

text: Fossil evidence for Pangaea includes the presence of similar and identical species on continents that are now great distances apart. For example, fossils of the therapsid Lystrosaurus have been found in South Africa, India and Antarctica, alongside members of the Glossopteris flora, whose distribution would have ranged from the polar circle to the equator if the continents had been in their present position; similarly, the freshwater reptile Mesosaurus has been found in only localized regions of the coasts of Brazil and West Africa.[19]

text: Additional evidence for Pangaea is found in the geology of adjacent continents, including matching geological trends between the eastern coast of South America and the western coast of Africa. The polar ice cap of the Carboniferous Period covered the southern end of Pangaea. Glacial deposits, specifically till, of the same age and structure are found on many separate continents which would have been together in the continent of Pangaea.[20]

text: Paleomagnetic study of apparent polar wandering paths also support the theory of a supercontinent. Geologists can determine the movement of continental plates by examining the orientation of magnetic minerals in rocks; when rocks are formed, they take on the magnetic properties of the Earth and indicate in which direction the poles lie relative to the rock. Since the magnetic poles drift about the rotational pole with a period of only a few thousand years, measurements from numerous lavas spanning several thousand years are averaged to give an apparent mean polar position. Samples of sedimentary rock and intrusive igneous rock have magnetic orientations that are typically an average of the "secular variation" in the orientation of magnetic north because their remanent magnetizations are not acquired instantaneously. Magnetic differences between sample groups whose age varies by millions of years is due to a combination of true polar wander and the drifting of continents. The true polar wander component is identical for all samples, and can be removed, leaving geologists with the portion of this motion that shows continental drift and can be used to help reconstruct earlier continental positions.[21]

text: The continuity of mountain chains provides further evidence for Pangaea. One example of this is the Appalachian Mountains chain which extends from the southeastern United States to the Caledonides of Ireland, Britain, Greenland, and Scandinavia.[22]

text: Rifting and break-up

text: There were three major phases in the break-up of Pangaea. The first phase began in the Early-Middle Jurassic (about 175 Ma), when Pangaea began to rift from the Tethys Ocean in the east to the Pacific in the west. The rifting that took place between North America and Africa produced multiple failed rifts. One rift resulted in a new ocean, the North Atlantic Ocean.[22]

text: The Atlantic Ocean did not open uniformly; rifting began in the north-central Atlantic. The South Atlantic did not open until the Cretaceous when Laurasia started to rotate clockwise and moved northward with North America to the north, and Eurasia to the south. The clockwise motion of Laurasia led much later to the closing of the Tethys Ocean and the widening of the "Sinus Borealis", which later became the Arctic Ocean. Meanwhile, on the other side of Africa and along the adjacent margins of east Africa, Antarctica and Madagascar, new rifts were forming that would lead to the formation of the southwestern Indian Ocean that would open up in the Cretaceous.

text: The second major phase in the break-up of Pangaea began in the Early Cretaceous (150–140 Ma), when the minor supercontinent of Gondwana separated into multiple continents (Africa, South America, India, Antarctica, and Australia). The subduction at Tethyan Trench probably caused Africa, India and Australia to move northward, causing the opening of a "South Indian Ocean". In the Early Cretaceous, Atlantica, today's South America and Africa, finally separated from eastern Gondwana (Antarctica, India and Australia). Then in the Middle Cretaceous, Gondwana fragmented to open up the South Atlantic Ocean as South America started to move westward away from Africa. The South Atlantic did not develop uniformly; rather, it rifted from south to north.

text: Also, at the same time, Madagascar and India began to separate from Antarctica and moved northward, opening up the Indian Ocean. Madagascar and India separated from each other 100–90 Ma in the Late Cretaceous. India continued to move northward toward Eurasia at 15 centimeters (6 in) a year (a plate tectonic record), closing the eastern Tethys Ocean, while Madagascar stopped and became locked to the African Plate. New Zealand, New Caledonia and the rest of Zealandia began to separate from Australia, moving eastward toward the Pacific and opening the Coral Sea and Tasman Sea.

text: The third major and final phase of the break-up of Pangaea occurred in the early Cenozoic (Paleocene to Oligocene). Laurasia split when North America/Greenland (also called Laurentia) broke free from Eurasia, opening the Norwegian Sea about 60–55 Ma. The Atlantic and Indian Oceans continued to expand, closing the Tethys Ocean.

text: Meanwhile, Australia split from Antarctica and moved quickly northward, just as India had done more than 40 million years before. Australia is currently on a collision course with eastern Asia. Both Australia and India are currently moving northeast at 5–6 centimeters (2–3 in) a year. Antarctica has been near or at the South Pole since the formation of Pangaea about 280 Ma. India started to collide with Asia beginning about 35 Ma, forming the Himalayan orogeny, and also finally closing the Tethys Seaway; this collision continues today. The African Plate started to change directions, from west to northwest toward Europe, and South America began to move in a northward direction, separating it from Antarctica and allowing complete oceanic circulation around Antarctica for the first time. This motion, together with decreasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, caused a rapid cooling of Antarctica and allowed glaciers to form. This glaciation eventually coalesced into the kilometers-thick ice sheets seen today.[23] Other major events took place during the Cenozoic, including the opening of the Gulf of California, the uplift of the Alps, and the opening of the Sea of Japan. The break-up of Pangaea continues today in the Red Sea Rift and East African Rift.

text: Tectonic plate shift

text: Pangaea's formation is now commonly explained in terms of plate tectonics. The involvement of plate tectonics in Pangaea's[24] separation helps to show how it did not separate all at once, but at different times, in sequences. Additionally, after these separations, it has also been discovered that the separated land masses may have also continued to break apart multiple times. The formation of each environment and climate on Pangaea is due to plate tectonics, and thus, it is as a result of these shifts and changes different climatic pressures were placed on the life on Pangaea. Although plate tectonics was paramount in the formation of later land masses, it was also essential in the placement, climate, environments, habitats, and overall structure of Pangaea.[25]

text: What can also be observed in relation to tectonic plates and Pangaea, is the formations to such plates. Mountains and valleys form due to tectonic collisions as well as earthquakes and chasms. Consequentially, this shaped Pangaea and animal adaptations. Furthermore, plate tectonics can contribute to volcanic activity,[26] which is responsible for extinctions and adaptations which have evidently affected life over time, and without doubt on Pangaea.

text: Life

text: For the approximately 160 million years Pangaea existed, many species had fruitful times whereas others struggled. The Traversodontidae[27] is an example of such prospering animals, eating a diet of only plants. Plants dependent on spore reproduction had been taken out of the ecosystems, and replaced by the gymnosperm plant, which reproduces through the use of seeds instead. Later on, insects (beetles, dragonflies, mosquitos) also thrived during the Permian period 299 to 252 million years ago.[28] However, the Permian extinction at 252 Mya greatly impacted these insects in mass extinction, being the only mass extinction to affect insects. When the Triassic Period came, many reptiles were able to also thrive, including Archosaurs, which were an ancestor to modern-day crocodiles and birds.

text: Little is known about marine life during the existence of Pangaea. Scientists are unable to find substantial evidence or fossilized remains in order to assist them in answering such questions. However, a couple of marine animals have been determined to have existed at the time- the Ammonites and Brachiopods. Additionally, evidence pointing towards massive reefs with varied ecosystems, especially in the species of sponges and coral, have also been discovered.[citation needed]

text: Climate change after Pangaea

text: Pangaea has tremendously affected the setup of the world now. In the post Pangaea time period, the reconfiguration of continents and oceans has changed the climate of many areas. There is scientific evidence that proves that climate was drastically altered. When the continents separated and reformed themselves, it changed the flow of the oceanic currents and winds. The scientific reasoning behind all of the changes is Continental Drift. The theory of Continental Drift, created by Alfred Wegener, explained how the continents shifted Earth’s surface and how that affected many aspects such as climate, rock formations found on different continents and plant and animal fossils.[29] Wegener studied plant fossils from the frigid Arctic of Svalbard, Norway. He determined that such plants were not meant to adapt to a glacial climate. The fossils he found were from tropical plants that were meant to adapt and thrive in warmer and tropical climate.[30] Because we would not assume that the plant fossils were capable of traveling to a different place we suspect that Svalbard possibly had a warmer, less frigid climate in the past.[31]

text: When Pangaea separated, the reorganization of the continents changed the function of the oceans and seaways. The restructuring of the continents, changed and altered the distribution of warmth and coolness of the oceans. When North America and South America connected, it stopped equatorial currents from passing from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.[32] Researchers have found evidence by using computer hydrological models to show that this strengthened the Gulf Stream by diverting more warm currents towards Europe. Warm waters at high latitudes led to an increased evaporation and eventually atmospheric moisture. Increased evaporation and atmospheric moisture resulted in increased precipitation. Evidence of increased precipitation is the development of snow and ice that covers Greenland, which led to an accumulation of the icecap. Greenland’s growing ice cap led to further global cooling.[32] Scientists also found evidence of global cooling through the separation of Australia and Antarctica and the formation of the Antarctic Ocean. Ocean currents in the newly formed Antarctic or Southern Ocean created a circumpolar current.[32] The creation of the new ocean that caused a circumpolar current eventually led to atmospheric currents that rotated from west to east. Atmospheric and oceanic currents stopped the transfer of warm, tropical air and water to the higher latitudes. As a result of the warm air and currents moving northward, Antarctica cooled down so much that it became frigid.

text: Although many of Alfred Wegener’s theories and conclusions were valid, scientists are constantly coming up with new innovative ideas or reasoning behind why certain things happen. Wegener’s theory of Continental Drift was later replaced by the theory of tectonic plates.[33]

text: Implications of extinction

text: There is evidence to suggest that the deterioration of northern Pangaea contributed to the Permian Extinction, one of Earth’s five major mass extinction events, which resulted in the loss of over 90% of marine and 70% of terrestrial species. There were three main sources of environmental deterioration which are believed to have had a hand in the extinction event.

text: The first of these sources is a loss of oxygen concentration in the ocean which caused deep water regions called the lysocline to grow shallower. With the lysocline shrinking, there were fewer places for calcite to dissolve in the ocean, considering calcite only dissolves at deep ocean depths. This led to the extinction of carbonate producers such as brachiopods and corals that relied on dissolved calcite to survive. The second source is the eruption of the Siberian Traps, a large volcanic event which is argued to be the result of Pangaean tectonic movement.[34] This had several negative repercussions on the environment, including metal loading and excess atmospheric carbon. Metal loading, the release of toxic metals from volcanic eruptions into the environment, led to acid rain and general stress on the environment. These toxic metals are known to infringe on vascular plants’ ability to photosynthesize, which may have resulted in the loss of Permian-era flora. Excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is believed to be the main cause of the shrinking of lysocline areas.

text: The third cause of this extinction event that can be attributed to northern Pangaea is the beginnings of anoxic ocean environments, or oceans with very low oxygen concentrations. The mix of anoxic oceans and ocean acidification due to metal loading led to increasingly acidic oceans,[35] which ultimately led to the extinction of benthic species.[36]