VERA CHOK

Hello! I’m Vera (they/she). I’m an actor, improviser, performance maker, and published writer, currently based in London, England. Fresh from the UK tour of 2:22 - A Ghost Story, playing Lauren until mid June 2024. My debut book, ANGRY YELLOW WOMAN, came out in April. More info on that HERE.

On screen, I was most recently a series regular on Channel 4’s flagship drama, Hollyoaks, playing Honour Chen-Williams, head of the first ever East Asian family on a British continuing drama.

Theatre-wise, I’ve credits at Shakespeare’s Globe, London’s West End, The National Theatre, and was part of the original cast for multiple Olivier-winning Chimerica. It was also fab to hang out with (name drop!) Judi Dench in The Winter’s Tale for The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company. Her humility and spiciness are an inspiration.

I’m very proud to have developed and played World Premieres including Tom Stoppard’s The Hard Problem and Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s The World of Extreme Happiness, Ben Okri’s L’Etranger, and Improbable’s The Paper Man (European tour) which I co-devised and co-wrote.

I love sharing what I’ve learned and encouraging early stage artists so, when I can, I facilitate workshops, teach and speak. All my projects are ostensibly ‘about’ community-building and seed-planting for marginalised persons. I’m currently updating my Projects pages where you’ll get to find out more.

In the meantime, click on these links for my Spotlight and IMDb profiles or contact me if you’d like to know more.

Too Much Information: I grew up in Malaysia and am of Chinese descent, relevant only to the fact that if I seem contradictory, I fully acknowledge that I have come from some Other place, and from a very particular time. My parents grew up during the British rule and saw Malaysia gain Independence. I grew up speaking Malaysian English, then was taught the Queen’s English but ironically, ditched that in order to fit in when I got to England itself. My American accent is from watching too much TV!

I eat with a fork and spoon, dance like a loon, and have made a lot of work about home/having an anchor/howling into the abyss etc. I am happiest when I embrace my messy self.

After convincing a school in England to create a scholarship for me, I discovered that boarding school wasn’t all jolly hockey sticks. I then blagged a place at Oxford, freaked out when I got there, and did not drop out, though I was very close. I hold an MA in Archaeology & Anthropology and my key takeaway is question everything, because anyone can make anything sound convincing. Oh, and that anthropology should be a core subject from kindergarten up.

I trained as an actor at The Poor School (London) “late” in life, then even later, learned all I could about joy, naughtiness and beauty on stage from Philippe Gaulier (Paris). In between I was doing Grotowski & Chekhov physical and ensemble training where artists are also athletes, regional theatre and Christmas shows where audience interaction was key, performance improv with Andrew Morrish where I learned more about beauty and attention, and then was lucky enough to experience both West End and National Theatre hits. I now teach as well as perform improv - I believe that popular entertainment and comedy is a fantastic way to make the world a better place. Chronologically, I trained with Annie Sertich (Groundlings), David Shore (Monkey Toast), Chris Mead & Katy Schutte (Hoopla), and The Improv Place/The International Improv Station.

Around 2013, I started taking myself seriously as a writer. I could no longer ignore issues around gender parity and the inclusion of marginalised folk in the media. I tweeted Nikesh Shukla to include ‘people who look like me’ in line up of writers for The Good Immigrant, and ended up writing a chapter on being “yellow” for this bestselling collection of essays about what it means to be an immigrant of colour in the UK today. Oof. This then led to me aggravating trolls via articles in The Guardian and being exposed to other aspects of being in the public eye. Somehow, I crammed in an MA in creative writing, earned a Distinction, have contributed to various publications, and have a collection of poetry coming out via Burning Eye.

I have always brought people together and made things in whatever community I found myself in. the nihilists, Loose Lips, saltpeter, and The Brautigan Book Club are some of the organizations I founded. In this vein, Mingyu Lin, Bernadette Russell, Salena Godden, and Paula Varjack are artist-activists who inspire me. I am an advisor to Tête à Tête, the world's largest community for new opera, not because I know much about opera, but because music is miraculous and opera is seen as inaccessible and un-inclusive and no art form should be. TaT bring people together to forge ahead like no other group I know. I am also an Ambassador for Fearless Futures, an incredible female-led social justice training programme. and speak at various events championing inclusion.

I love performing, connecting people, and seeding beautiful things for our future. My performance practice has taught me that ‘mistakes’ and ‘failure’ are the best places to CARRY ON creating from, despite discomfort and hopelessness. Together, I believe that creative communities can keep working together to make spaces as safe and as inclusive as we can.

Here’s to continued meeting and playing with inspiring artists and friends!