The power of imagination — onstage and off | Suki Hillier

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Child actor Suki Hillier reflects on playing Matilda in London’s West End, arguing that imagination is not escape but a tool for empathy, confidence, and building shared reality. Her backstage rituals, rehearsal process, and a live mishap all show how deep preparation and trust let theater become a collaborative act between performer and audience.

Main Topics: Imagination as a way of building reality (Priority: 5/5): Suki frames imagination as something practical and communal, not a retreat from life. Acting helps create a world that feels real to both performer and audience. Becoming Matilda through repetition and memory (Priority: 5/5): She explains that years of watching the Matilda film, plus intensive rehearsals, helped her inhabit the role emotionally and physically. The audition journey and resilience (Priority: 4/5): Suki describes multiple audition rounds, illness, and months of uncertainty before finally being cast, showing persistence behind the performance. Backstage rituals and emotional preparation (Priority: 4/5): Before each show, she mentally enters Matilda’s life and emotions, then steps onstage ready to express courage, anger, and resilience. Live theater’s unpredictability (Priority: 3/5): A costume/hair mishap during a scene with Miss Honey illustrates how performers adapt calmly when things go wrong, while maintaining the illusion for the audience. TED curation and child perspectives on play (Priority: 4/5): Chloe Shasha Brooks explains why TED wanted a child speaker and how Suki’s responses revealed unusual emotional intelligence and insight about play and acting.

Key Arguments: Imagination is not about escaping the real world; it is a way of building one. A role can feel internalized long before an actor officially performs it, especially when a child has repeatedly engaged with the story. Professional child actors can demonstrate emotional intelligence and empathy beyond their years through disciplined performance. Theater is collaborative: cast, crew, and audience collectively create the experience. Live performance requires adaptability; mistakes can be absorbed without breaking the scene. Adults often lose playfulness, so children can teach valuable lessons about wonder and creative engagement.

Data Points: Theatre capacity: 1,249 seats - Cambridge Theatre in London’s West End where Suki performs Matilda. Audition rounds: 6 rounds - Suki went through six rounds of auditions twice. First audition period: spring 2024 - When she first reached the final round before getting sick. Waiting period: 4 weeks - Time Suki waited for the casting call after re-auditioning. Rehearsal period: 3 months - Intensive rehearsals before stepping into the role on stage. Age when filming attachment began: 3 years old - Suki says Matilda had been inside her since she was dreaming about the character at age three. Video call age: 10 years old - Chloe says Suki was 10 at the time of their exploratory call. Performance age: 11 years old - The episode introduces Suki as an 11-year-old actress.

Pivotal Quotes: "I didn't become her. I just finally let her out." — Suki Hillier: Explaining how she felt after years of imagining Matilda and completing rehearsal. "Imagination isn't about escaping the real world. It is a way of building one." — Suki Hillier: Her core thesis on why theater and play matter. "Adults have a lot to learn from young people about how to play, since so many of us forget how to be playful as life gets more serious." — Chloe Shasha Brooks: Why TED wanted a child speaker for an event on play.

Implications: The episode suggests that play and performance can deepen empathy, resilience, and collaboration. For listeners, it reframes imagination as a life skill—and a reminder that children can model emotional insight adults often lose.