The Power of Imagination — Onstage and Off | Suki Hillier | TED

Hi everyone. Today I want to talk about. imagination and theater. For the past year, I've been playing. Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre in. London's West End. The theater has 1,249. seats and it is almost full every single. night. Matilda is based on the book by Roald. Dahl and a lot of you probably already. know the story. It is about a brave little girl who,

even though she is bullied by her. parents, uses her intelligence, courage, and magic to take control of her own. life. Well, I am that Matilda. alongside three other amazing girls. The. four of us share the lead role, which is. wonderful. But getting here was not exactly simple. I had to go through six rounds of. auditions. twice. The first time was in spring 2024. I. made it all the way to the final round, but then got a really bad cold.

I couldn't sing. I couldn't perform. So, I had to stop. Six months later, I had to go through. the whole process all over again. And then came the hardest part, the. waiting. Four whole weeks of not knowing. It felt. like four years. But then finally one day, the call came. I'd been offered the role. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So, I did both at the same time. Here's something I should tell you. though. Matilda and I go way back, long before. auditions, long before any of this.

I started watching the 1996 Matilda film. when I was just 3 years old. I watched. it over and over again. I would sit very. still, staring at objects around the. house, and trying to make them wobble. So, when I finally got to step onto the. real stage at the Cambridge Theatre, I could do things with my eyes. Well, after 7 years of staring at cups. Three months of intensive rehearsals. followed. Every step, every line, every move, Again and again, until I didn't have to.

think about it anymore. The casting coaches were also patient. with me. Honestly, they deserved medals. But somewhere in all those hours, something had changed. I'd stopped trying to find Matilda, because I realized she'd been inside me. the whole time. She was the girl I'd been dreaming about. since I was three. I didn't become her. I just finally let. her out. The theater itself is a world of its. own. It has lights, painted walls, window frames, desks, and swings.

And there is a library where I can dive. into my books and find the wonderful. Mrs. Phelps waiting for me. There is my very kind Miss Honey. And over there, sitting in front of the. telly with my brother, are my rather. obnoxious parents. And somewhere, lurking into the shadows, is the terrifying Miss Trunchbull. Every night before the show starts, I. stand backstage getting ready. In my mind, I think about Matilda's. life, her love of books, her hatred of. bullies, her courage to find her own way. to fight back.

I breathe in, I breathe out, and then I. step onto the stage. And when I'm in the light, I am her. I'm brave enough to stand up to Miss. Trunchbull when she grabs a boy by his. ears. I shout to her with everything I have. My heart beats so fast, I can feel it. When my dad rips my books, I know I'm. resilient and that I will get my own. back. Glue his hat to his head. Dye his hair. green. Every time I have a hidden smile, right here. I love standing on elevating book stand.

during quiet. Everything's so still, so. quiet, but my heart is pounding as I feel all. Matilda's anger bursting out through my. eyes. But things in life do not always go as. planned, and the same is true on stage. One night, during the scene where I hug. Miss Honey, because she'd offered me. something no one else ever has, kindness. I hug her very tightly. At that exact moment, Miss Trunchbull. ran in. We were supposed to spring apart, except we couldn't because my hair was.

completely tangled into a necklace. 1 second, 2 seconds, 5 seconds of stage. time feels rather long, let me tell you. But nobody panicked. We stayed calm. We. stayed in the scene. Quietly, very. quietly, we untangled ourselves. I lost some hair and Miss Honey lost a. necklace, but we carried on. The audience never noticed a thing. And. most luckily, Miss Trunchbull didn't. catch us, either. You see, the stage and life are not so. different because imagination isn't.

about escaping the real world. It is a. way of building one. And when our imaginations work together, every character on that stage comes. alive. The cast, the crew, and every single person in the audience. all join in. That is when the real magic happens. I look out and see your shining faces. back at me. I can see smiles. I can see tears. I hear you clapping so hard as if you. never want to leave Matilda's world. And honestly, neither do I. But at that moment, I want to give every. single one of you the biggest hug and.

tell you Matilda loves you all. Thank. you. >> [applause].