Girl's power play

"The characters are so vivid, such as the school's mean headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and Matilda's teacher, Miss Honey, who recognizes her genius and encourages her."

According to He Lei, executive producer of Chinese theatrical adaptation company Seven Ages, negotiations to bring Matilda to China started five years ago.

He, who was born in Haimen city, Jiangsu province, obtained her bachelor's degree of English literature from Peking University in 2008 and studied at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. After returning to Shanghai, she joined Seven Ages in 2016.

He, who watched Matilda 20 times, recalls: "I first watched the musical, Matilda, in 2014 in London and fell in love with it immediately. It was a highlight among the many musical productions that I have watched around the world."

The international tour company includes a cast made up of both children and adults.

To make the China tour happen, the translation of the lyrics took more than six months to complete, and even more time was spent re-engineering the stage sets.

Griffin says: "Though I cannot understand Chinese, I can see the brilliance of the translation by watching the audience. They respond exactly the way they should, at exactly the right time. They get the jokes."

Griffin recalls seeing Matilda for the first time at its London premiere in 2010, describing it as "the best version of everything".

"I worked with the same creative team on another musical, Ghost, which was right before Matilda opened. The clever and intricate details of Matilda, combined with love and laughter, offer something for everyone," Griffin says.