With Les Misérables running at West End’s Sondheim Theatre, Nathania Ong is currently playing Éponine, a role she originally performed on the UK and Ireland Tour, and whilst in the West End cast, she had a solo performance of Éponine’s song On My Own at The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals in February. Nathania graduated from Mountview in 2021, and in the same year, she performed alongside fellow Mountview students in the Ensemble of Songs For a New World, and she took over the role of Jenna Rolan in Be More Chill at the Shaftesbury Theatre for her professional and West End debut. Answering our questions, Nathania spoke to us about playing Éponine in Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre, originally playing the role on the UK and Ireland Tour and her professional and West End debut as Jenna Rolan in Be More Chill.

In the current West End cast of Les Misérables, you play Éponine at the Sondheim Theatre, how is the run going so far?

The run is going really, really well. I think that we have an incredibly talented cast and I think they are all really lovely people to work with, and that just makes the job so much easier for me and everyone involved when you enjoy the company of the people you are surrounded by.

Can you tell us what the musical is like to be part of and what is it like performing as Éponine?

Playing the role of Éponine has been such a blessing, at this point I have played her for almost a year and a half and I am not bored. There is such a depth to this character and this woman who has lived such a life, and, in that respect, I feel like I am constantly discovering things and fleshing her out – trying to make her different every single night, not just for myself but for the audience. I think that I make it a personal challenge for myself to always explore and keep the role as fresh as I can.

What is it like working alongside the rest of the cast and what are you enjoying most about performing in Les Misérables?

It has been such a privilege to work with the rest of this really, really talented cast as I mentioned previously, they’re all lovely as people so in that respect it is always nice to get to know about their lives outside of Les Mis and really get to know them as people. I feel like I have learnt so much from each of them, not only about industry stuff – I haven’t been out in the industry that long and some people have years of experience – so it has been really nice to learn about them and pick their brains about the industry – but also, in just daily life. I have learnt such wonderful advice and gleaned so much from them as individuals – they all have special qualities about each of them that are individual and wonderful.

How was it performing On My Own at The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals in February?

Oh my gosh, performing On My Own at The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals was insane. To be honest, it was a bit embarrassing because I opened the email I got from the company and thought “This is nice” – I’ve done Magic at the Musicals previously – and to me that was a massive venue. So, for some reason I assumed this would be the same thing and I couldn’t have been more wrong because a few days later I decided to Google the venue and realised it was massive and I was not prepared for that. Thankfully, I had plenty of weeks to prepare and the company was really lovely and helped to communicate with me about all the logistics. Eventually the day came, and I was so nervous I couldn’t sleep. To be honest, I jumped on that stage, and I was shaking like a leaf because I was so nervous in front of all those people. Honestly, the most difficult thing for me was just standing still because I wanted to shake all round and just move to get the jitters out but couldn’t because of how the song is done. I got on stage, and I was so in my body but also out of my body that by the time the number had finished I could not tell you what happened. But I will say right at the end I think I was still in character but for me – when the audience applauds me – I try and give meaning to that so it could be them telling me it’s ok, Marius will fall in love with you or that Marius will never love you. All of these things, I try and find a way to spin it to the character so my response to the applause is as realistic to the character as it is to me as an actor. But yeah, my response was as true in that moment as it could have been. I still look back at that performance and feel so incredibly privileged to be given that opportunity.

You originally played Éponine in the UK and Ireland Tour, do you remember how you felt finding out you’d booked the role and was there anything that drew you to the production?

I remember I had my final audition and then was going to babysit my friend’s French Bulldog (he was a little puppy at the time) and I did the audition, jumped on the bus and thought I don’t want to even think about it. It was an hour’s journey and by the time I got off the bus, I got a call from my agent. I was ecstatic – I jumped up and down in the middle of Liverpool Street Station and everyone thought I was insane. I immediately called my dad and, you know how parents are, they don’t understand the industry – he said “I knew you would get it”. It was amazing. I am just so glad someone had faith in me, put their faith in me to be a part of this production.

What are some of your favourite memories from performing on the UK and Ireland Tour and how did you find the experience touring for the first time?

It was so lovely to get to go on tour because I grew up in Singapore and spent most of my life there so touring the UK was a lovely opportunity to see parts of the UK I wouldn’t otherwise have experienced or gone to myself as a UK newbie. Gosh there are so many memories from the tour – some of my random favourite memories was loving getting ice cream in Plymouth and having clotted cream on ice cream. To me, that was baffling, but someone in heaven above is looking out for me because that combination was banging. But also, just late-night Monopoly games with Paige (Blankson) and Abel (Law). I was so blessed to have them on tour, they’re like my family.

How is it seeing the audience response to the musical and why would you recommend booking tickets to see Les Misérables in the West End?

I think that the audience response to Les Mis is always epic.

I would recommend booking tickets to Les Mis because it is the longest running musical in the West End, and I think there is a reason for that – it is incredibly timeless, and the story is so complex with so much depth and there is so much beauty about how it speaks about the human condition. Plus, the quality of the production is so high – Cameron Mackintosh has such a stringent process with the show, plus as I said before, I feel that the cast are all super talented.

In 2021, you made your professional debut in Be More Chill at the Shaftesbury Theatre, how was it taking over the role of Jenna Rolan?

That job was so much fun! Be More Chill is such a crazy musical that if you asked me to give you a synopsis of what it was actually about, I would really struggle to tell you but I feel like it is one of those shows you have to watch as it has so much heart, doesn’t take itself too seriously and has a lovely overarching message of being yourself and not what other people want you to be. Plus, the cast were really talented – gosh, I have been really blessed with working with really talented, lovely people. It is funny as Stewart Clarke, who is currently playing Javert in the West End now, was in Be More Chill with me as well – it’s a small world!

What was it like performing in Be More Chill in the West End and what was Jenna like to play?

Be More Chill was crazy and the rest of the cast were really welcoming to Grace (Mouat) and I, who were taking over two of the roles at the time. Jenna Rolan was someone who knew everything about everyone all of the time but was also sort of with the popular kids but outcast from them too – and the way she stayed relevant was by always knowing other people’s business and creating gossip (as shown in her song Smart Phone Hour) and it is kind of a commentary on social media and how things spread like wildfire.

We understand you were in the Ensemble of Songs For A New World, can you say about this?

Yes! There were a bunch of us from Mountview and we were singing backup for Cedric Neal, Rachel Tucker, Rachel John and David Hunter. This all happened in COVID so we didn’t get to mingle much, and we were sat in masks the whole time, but the cast tried to make us feel as included as they could considering the circumstances by saying hi and chatting with us as much as possible. We were nobodies so they really didn’t have to do that, but I can say from my point of view that I really appreciated that.

You graduated from Mountview in 2021, how was your time as a student there and can you tell us about some of the shows you performed in whilst training?

I learnt a lot from Mountview, and we had some incredible teachers and having those teachers taught me some techniques that I still employ to this day, so I really do owe a lot to them regarding that. I will say, I was part of the year which spent nine months on Zoom because of COVID, but I guess we just got really good at self-taping! And the shows I did while training were Jane Eyre and Mary Poppins (non-public), Candide and Mother Claps Molly House. My favourite production of those was Candide. My character went through a series of tragic events that were so awful and gruesome and Rupert (Hands) and Sarah (Golding) created this movement sequence that was kind of almost balletic with black masking tape and it was so interesting. It was just like this crazy fusion of dance – we’d have vogueing (in an operetta which is so wild) and Liam Unby has the most incredible ear, so he made sure we all sounded extremely good in an incredibly difficult piece of music. I love that production and can say, to this day, that it is one of my favourite productions I have ever done because it was so interesting and so fun.

Where does your love of acting come from and how did you get into it?

My love of acting actually came quite late. It happened when I was doing my A-levels – we had drama as an H2 level A-level in Singapore and because in Singapore you don’t get the same exposure as in this country because you are surrounded by theatre, and you can pay £25 to watch a piece of live theatre whereas in Singapore it is not as commercialised or available. To get to watch these things you have to know about theatre whereas here it is everywhere which I think is amazing (and I am jealous, to be honest) so my exposure to acting came quite late. I think my decision to do it was by coincidence as I just wasn’t very smart and didn’t do well at my other subjects! But it was something that I enjoyed. I came into musical theatre more from the music side – I’d sung since I was young and then I came across acting and thought “Ooh, this is exciting – you’re saying I can sing and act at the same time?” so I decided to pursue it in a bit more depth.

Do you have any favourite theatre shows to watch and which would you like to see that you haven’t done so as yet?

I think in terms of favourite theatre shows to watch, I have a top three I have already seen and a few I haven’t seen yet. My top three that I have seen are Come From Away (it is such a beautiful story which shows so much good in humanity which is really wonderful – seeing a group of people banding together to help people who need it, that is human nature. It is so lively and so fun. I love Come From Away). I watched Jesus Christ Superstar at the Barbican. I paid £25 for the cheapest seats, and I was dragged over to watch it by a friend and fell in love with the production. I thought it was brilliant in direction, the cast were phenomenal. Actually, I watched Rob Tripolino play Jesus before he ended up working alongside me as Marius which is really funny. Also, Ricardo Alphonso as Judas was chef’s kiss, he was amazing. My third show I fell in love with was My Neighbour Totoro, which recently ran at the Barbican. It’s not even that sad a story but, the quality of the production, the set design, the movement, the work by the actors is so brilliant – it stole my heart, I wept, and I am not ashamed to say it. In terms of shows I’d like to see – I’d love to watch Hadestown and The Color Purple. My dream role would be to be in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (the Disney production) as a soprano ensemble member because I think it has the most brilliant and stellar music.

How do you like to spend your time away from your career?

In terms of time away from my career, at the moment I am trying to learn to play the guitar. I am not very good at it so please, if you ever hear me playing it just walk away because it is not good. I watch a lot of anime; at the moment I am waiting for Demon Slayer Season 3 to be out completely. I love My Hero Academia, another Crazy Cakes anime. The action is brilliant, the story is intricate, and you get a real feel for all the characters in it. I used to do competitive cheerleading for quite a big chunk of my life so, I haven’t managed to do it here, but I would love to get back into power tumbling again because it was a lot of fun and it’s something that was really challenging that gets my adrenaline spiking, I guess. I haven’t managed to find a team here but when I am back in Singapore I like to go back to cheerleading and stunt with them – lots of throwing people which is really fun.

Follow Nathania on:

Instagram