The power of imagination — onstage and off | Suki Hillier

0:23Suki Hillier.

0:30Something had changed. I'd stopped trying to find Matilda because I realized she'd been inside me the whole time. I didn't become her. I just finally let her out. Listening to Suki, you can hear that particular joy of hearing a kid who's just let you into their own imaginary world. And not in a cutesy way. I've always been moved by moments when a child says something that makes you realize just how much they're noticing and feeling about the world around us. It made me wonder, as we grow up, what happens to our childlike sense of wonder? In her talk, Suki takes us backstage into what it's like to play Matilda night after night, stepping into the role of a brave little girl who uses her intelligence, courage, and imagination to take control of her own life.

1:17She explores what imagination can do when it's shared between an actor and an audience, which makes us think, what if finding your way into someone else's story isn't just a way to pretend, but a way to listen closely and understand each other more deeply. The stage and life are not so different because imagination isn't about escaping the real world. It is a way of building one. After the talk, stick around. We'll hear from TED curator Chloe Shasha Brooks, who shares what led her to Suki and what Suki revealed for her about acting, empathy, and imagination. That's all coming up right after a short break.

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4:16And now, our TED Talk of the day. Hi, everyone. Today I want to talk about imagination and theatre. For the past year, I've been playing Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre in London's West End. The theatre 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.

4:58But 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 cool came. I'd been off of the roll. I didn't know it was laugh or cry, so I did both at the same time. Here's something I should tell you, though.

5:38Matilda and I go way back, long before auditions, long before any of this. I started watching a 1996 Matilda film when I was just three 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 couldn't do things with my eyes. Well, after seven 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 cast and coaches were all so patient with me.

6:15Honestly, they deserved medals. But somewhere in all those hours, something had changed. I'd stopped trying to find Matilda, because I realised 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 theatre 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. Felks 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.

6:54And 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 Tilda'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 boy by his ears. I shout to her with everything I have. My heart beats so fast, I can feel it. When my dad rits my books, I know I'm resilient and that I will get my own back.

7:33Glue his hat to his head. Dyer's hair green. Every time I have a hidden smile, right here. Hey y 'all, jumping in really quick to share that Suki put her hand on her heart here, where her hidden smiles live. I love standing on the 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 hugged Miss Honey, because she'd offered me something no one else ever has. Kindness. I hugged her very tightly.

8:10At that exact moment, Miss Trunchbull ran in. We were supposed to spring apart. Except we couldn't, because my hair was completely tangled into her necklace. One second. Two seconds. Five 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 Trunch wouldn't catch us either. You see, the stage and life are not so different. Because imagination isn't about escaping the real world.

8:50It 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'd 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.

9:26that was Suki Hillier at play at ted 2026 and now here's ted curator chloe shasha brooks speaking about why in an event about play she wanted to hear from a kid and what working with revealed about imagination empathy and growing up without losing that sense of wonder hi thanks

9:46Suki Hillier: Thanks for listening to Suki Hillier's talk. I'm Chloe Shasha Brooks, speaking to you from New York City. In my work, I get the immense privilege of bringing people of all ages to the TED stage, but it's a rare treat to work with children. And so, while I was thinking about who to bring together to share their ideas around play, it seemed kind of absurd to hear only from adults. 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. So as I was thinking about topics and themes, one particular idea kept floating to the top of my list based on an experience I had many years ago.

10:25Suki Hillier: I saw Matilda on Broadway in New York City when I was freshly graduated from college and found myself completely floored by the child actors. Children with professional, public-facing careers have always been fascinating to me for many reasons, but these Matilda actors particularly impressed me. not only because of the actual show, which, to be clear, was fantastic. What moved me in particular was that these very small children, in classic Broadway fashion, truly knew how to sing harmonies, dance and climb the set in unison, and convey complex emotions in their roles at very young ages. Most of the cast seemed to be around 10 years old or so, so I imagine that they must be emotionally intelligent and thoughtful beyond their years in some way to do the acting they were doing.

11:14Suki Hillier: In the case of the girl playing Matilda on Broadway when I went to see the show, she was able to so believably and palpably display the experience of being simultaneously baffled, hurt, and in a state of longing for care from her very chaotic parents. So as I thought about the different meanings of play, I thought it could be really interesting to hear from a professional child actor about how they are able to become a character who has had experiences in life that they themselves haven't actually had. And so all of that is what led me to Suki. She had just finished her stint as Matilda in London's West End Theatre.

11:50Suki Hillier: I reached out to her talent management, and a couple of days later I was on a video call with her and her parents for an exploratory conversation. She was 10 years old at the time of our call, and the first thing that struck me about her within a minute of meeting her was her genuine, well-thought-out responses to each of the questions. We typically set up a handful of exploratory calls with speakers we're interested in bringing to the TED stage, and Suki, even though she's 10 years old, was no different, because I was trying to get a sense of her, and also to figure out what specifics she could touch on if she gave this TED talk.

12:23Suki Hillier: So I asked her my most earnest questions that I've kind of been wondering about my whole life when it comes to professional child actors. What helps you feel at ease performing in front of hundreds or thousands of people. When I asked her that, she told me she's always loved being on the stage, that it's where she feels most comfortable, so maybe there is an innate element. I asked her, how did you learn to act out experiences you've never had before? She told me that in the case of Matilda, she'd watched that movie so many times as a kid that she imagined being her already for years, and that knowledge of the movie really helped her feel her emotions as Matilda on stage.

13:00Suki Hillier: I also asked her, what do you do to feel like Matilda before you step out on stage each night, to go from being Suki to Matilda? And as she said in her talk, she almost meditates on Matilda's life while she's still backstage before she steps out. I then asked her, what kinds of bonds did you form with your co-stars when you were offstage? This question is what led to her story about her hair getting tied up in Miss Honey's necklace during one of the live shows, which she told me while laughing and describing her real-life bond with her fellow actor, the adult woman who played Miss Honey. I was really moved by each one of her answers, so we invited her to speak at Play at TED before our call even ended.

13:38Suki Hillier: Obviously, Suki is just one person, and she doesn't represent every professional child actor, but this experience of working with her did confirm that at least this particular child actor is wise beyond her years, both emotionally and intellectually. I'm grateful to her for bringing me into her world and showing me how she uses her imagination to do the amazing work that she does.

14:02If you're curious about TED's curation, visit TED.com slash curation guidelines. And that's it for today. TED Talks Daily is a podcast from TED. This episode was fact-checked by the TED Research Team and produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Lucy Little, Emma Taubner, and Tansika Sungmarnivong. Additional support from Daniela Ballarezzo, Christopher Faze-Bogan, Valentina Bohanini, Banban Chang, Brian Green, and Lainey Lott. Learn more at podcasts.ted.com. I am Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening.

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