Victoria Chen on taking over a lead role in My Neighbour Totoro
It’s been about a year since Victoria Chen stepped in to play the iconic role of Mei in My Neighbour Totoro as it moved from the Barbican to the Gillian Lynne Theatre. Clearly, it’s an extraordinary challenge to take over a character in such a hugely successful production. It’s especially difficult to be inheriting it from Mei Mac, who in 2023 was nominated for a Best Actress Olivier Award for the same role – the first East Asian actor to be nominated in this category! But now Vic has had time to settle in and it’s clear she has made the part very much her own, earning glowing commendations from reviewers and audiences alike. We pulled her in for a chat to ask how it feels.
Hi Vic. Thank you so much for taking time to talk with us about your amazing takeover in My Neighbour Totoro. What was your background in performance before coming into the show?
I made my professional UK debut with Perth Theatre for their first panto after reopening, and thereafter worked quite a bit in Singapore, doing a mix of plays and voiceover work and TYA.
And I was so fortunate to work over the pandemic as well, performing on Zoom for audiences at the Melbourne Fringe, in India and Brazil and basically anyone that would log in from anywhere.
Then I got the itch to see what else the world had in store for me, so I returned to the UK, this time in London, where I did a mix of immersive, Shakespeare and Christmas productions with Punchdrunk Enrichment, Orange Tree Theatre and Polka Theatre respectively.
While I was on tour around England with Funnelwick Limb, I would travel between London and whatever city I was in that week to audition for Totoro and I’m so glad all those train rides actually led to something!!
How did it initially feel when you were asked to play Mei?
Oh my days, it was a whole mix of emotions. I received the good news while running late to another show I was in, so I didn’t really have time to process. It’s been over a year, and I still don’t think it’s actually sunk in. To this day, there are times that my heart stops when I realise all over again that I get to be part of this acclaimed hit. Woof!
Mei is proud to tell us she’s only four years old, and she is enormously playful. How do you manage to embrace her childlike qualities, and is any of her character just part of your own personality?
Well, I have never wanted to grow up! Having responsibilities? Paying bills? Count me out! So I suppose this determination to remain in my child state has served me rather well for the role, ha ha ha!
Of course I work really hard, but it wouldn’t do much without everyone else putting in the effort. A lot of teamwork goes into selling this illusion: Kimie Nakano’s award-winning costume design, the WHAM team’s underrated styling, the scale of Totoro’s world through scenic design, Tom Morton-Smith’s brilliant script, the other actors’ commitment to believing I’m a 4-year-old onstage, and the audience’s willingness to suspend their disbelief.
It’s an incredibly demanding physical performance. What are the challenges for you?
Doing it eight times a week for an entire year and more! The repetition, and having to sustain the quality of work, would wear anyone’s body down. It’s like how someone who sits in front of a computer all day may get carpal tunnel or neck pain or lower back pain. However, it’s all part of learning how to use your body in the most efficient way, while also prioritising your health, fitness and safety.
It’s very important to be kind to yourself and understand that you can’t always be at a 100% every single show, but when you’re tired, you trust that your craft, technique and experience will support you to still deliver one heck of a performance.
What’s it like interacting with the puppet characters, who are being brought to life by such a huge team of talented puppeteers?
What a dream!
I’m working with and among some of the best puppeteers in the industry. Their technique, teamwork and dedication make these creatures so believable that I hardly have to do anything except play along. I’m forever in awe of them and have the deepest respect for their work and dedication.
Huge credit to puppetry director Basil Twist and associate Mervyn Millar for their attention to detail.
It’s brilliant to see so many South East and East Asian performers on the stage. Do you think this diversity of cast and creatives brings something new and important to the UK stage?
Absolutely.
I think it’s been a long time coming, and while ESEA creatives have delivered exceptional work on UK stages long before My Neighbour Totoro, the community has not received the deserved recognition or gained visibility as being a legitimate and real part of our social fabric.
With this show, however, it feels more than being seen or a consolidation of the community’s talent; it’s a magnificent merger of cultures, ideas and lived experiences that feels unprecedented.
As someone of Asian descent who lives in London, I firmly believe this gorgeous alchemy beautifully represents the cosmopolitan soul of this city.
Totoro offers so much more than a superficial depiction or re-enactment. I have foundations in Japanese Butoh dance, Noh Theatre and Tadashi Suzuki’s method for actor training. With all this knowledge and experience contextualising my understanding of the show, I see how this production, from its movement direction to the music to scenic design, thoroughly embodies the principles of Japanese storytelling and art.
I would do a play-by-play of every scene, but I think movement director You-Ri Yamanaka can do it with more eloquence. It’s simply remarkable.
And finally, which is your favourite part of the show?
I love every bit of this show but nothing prepared me for the curtain call!! If there were an Olivier category for curtain calls, Totoro would win, no question. So I really hope anyone who comes for the show stays until the very end!
Thanks very much to Vic for talking Totoro with us. My Neighbour Totoro runs at the Gillian Lynne Theatre until Sunday 30 August.
