'THE NIGHTMARE THAT LED TO MY DREAM ROLE'

Kiwi actress Mele Toli's rise has been full of real-life drama

Among her friends, Mele Toli is notorious for “underreacting” in times of crisis, so when the Kiwi actress received a letter informing her that the prestigious British drama school she was due to attend – which she’d already paid thousands of pounds in fees to – was suddenly closing, she remained cool, calm and collected.

“I just took some deep breaths and went to sleep!” laughs the bubbly 25-year-old, who stars in Auckland Theatre Company’s production of Hyperspace.

In April 2022, without warning, London-based drama school The Academy of Live & Recorded Arts (ALRA), whose alumni include Hannah Waddingham and Miranda Hart, shut down with immediate eff ect, saying it was no longer financially viable. Explanations were thin on the ground. Many staff and students largely found out about the closure through Twitter.

“I was living in Hawai’i at the time and, due to COVID, had delayed my place at ALRA by 12 months,” explains Mele. “I felt so lucky at the time to get accepted, then I get this email saying the school is closing and I’m trying to fi gure out, ‘Have I missed something?’ I’d paid my tuition in advance and was getting ready to move over there. I fired off an email asking about the money, but all the emails bounced back – the website no longer existed. It was a mess.”