Cast and Creatives Set For THE HUNGRY GHOST at Bush Theatre
Olivier nominee Mei Mac and Bridgerton's Isabella Wei lead Mei Leng Yew's debut play at the London venue.
New Earth Theatre in association with Bush Theatre will present The Hungry Ghost, written by Mei Leng Yew and directed by Ailin Conant. Performances will run 1 – 31 October.
Tonight's the night. She's got a plan. And it involves her (secret) girlfriend and the house they're about to move into together. And it doesn't matter to her that her mum warns tonight is the first night of the ghost month. Because parents will say anything to keep you home.
Swiping an orange from the family altar and pocketing a coin she finds on her way over to the new place, she steps through the doorway - and unwittingly invites a hungry ghost into both of their lives. As the ghost starts to take over and she wrestles for control of her own body, her carefully constructed house of lies comes tumbling down around her.
A sexy horror rom-com exploring what takes root in the space between superstition and rationality. Starring Olivier Award nominee Mei Mac (My Neighbour Totoro) and Isabella Wei (Bridgerton), The Hungry Ghost is the debut play from Mei Leng Yew, directed by New Earth Theatre Artistic Director Ailin Conant.
Biographies
Mei Mac is an Olivier Award nominee for Best Actress in a Play and WhatsOnStage Award nominee for Best Performer in a Play. Her theatre credits Include: Dracula (Lyric Hammersmith); My Neighbour Totoro (Barbican & RSC), Untitled F*ck M*ss S**gon Play (Manchester Royal Exchange, Young Vic); Dear Elizabeth (Gate Theatre); Five Plays - Tongue (Young Vic); The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (Bridge Theatre); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre); Under the Umbrella, The BFG (Birmingham Rep); Jackie the Baboon (Brunskill and Grimes); Romeo and Juliet (Papergang Theatre); Summer Times (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Peter Pan in Scarlet (Oxford Playhouse / New Vic Theatre); Snow Child (International Tour / York Theatre Royal); If The Lights Are Too Bright (Ovalhouse); Princess Mononoke (International Tour/ AiiA Theater Tokyo/ Whole Hog Theatre) and Wild Swans (Young Vic/American Repertory Theater). Her TV appearances include War (HBO), The War Between the Land and the Sea (Disney+ / BBC), Blue Lights (BBC), Horrible Science (BBC), East Mode (Comedy Central) and Call the Midwife (BBC). On film, she has appeared in Sacrifice My Country.
Hong Kong actress Isabella Wei is a rising star, having been featured on the Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 list. She joined the most recent season of the ever-popular Netflix series Bridgerton, playing 'Posy Li', the stepsister of the lead love interest, Sophie Baek. Series 4 was released earlier this year. She will next be seen leading the cast of Mina Shum's latest film, Whatcha Want, starring opposite Ming-Na Wen. The indie film is described as 'Crazy Rich Asians meets Flashdance” and will see Isabella portray “a recent immigrant to Canada and trophy wife from Hong Kong who rediscovers her love of dance after her wealthy husband's betrayal”. It will have its world premiere at TIFF next month. She also stars in the lead role of the indie film High Wire, directed by Calif Chong, which had its World Premiere at last year's London Film Festival. The film follows Go-Wing (Wei), a British-Chinese takeaway girl, whose world is opened to the boundless possibilities of life after a small circus arrives in a rural part of Yorkshire, England.
Isabella made her television debut in the Netflix series 1899 and was also seen as Kai-Ming in the critically acclaimed series Black Doves starring Keira Knightley and Ben Wishaw. She appeared in the 2024 remake of The Crow alongside Bill Skarsgard and FKA Twigs. Isabella was part of the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, where she initially trained as a dancer and performed at the Shouson Theatre before transitioning to acting. She splits her time between Hong Kong and London.
Mei Leng Yew is a British writer of Malaysian-Chinese heritage. The Hungry Ghost is her debut play. Mei Leng was shortlisted for the Women's Play for Playwriting in 2025 for her play Down Side Up. She is an alumna of the Soho Theatre Writers' Lab, the Royal Court Intro to Playwriting Group and New Earth Theatre's Writers Plus Academy. She is also a trustee of MAMA Youth Project, a charity that empowers diverse young people to work in Film & TV. Mei Leng is passionate about stories set in unique, highly personal worlds, with characters who find joy in unusual places.
Director Ailin Conant is the Artistic Director of New Earth. Prior to this role, she was founding artistic director of Theatre Témoin, with commissions from The Lowry, The Everyman Cheltenham, and Without Walls, and productions in Rwanda, Israel, Kashmir, Lebanon, France, and the USA. As a freelancer, Ailin is Senior Associate Director on My Neighbour Totoro with the RSC and Improbable, and has previously worked for the Royal Court, Bush Theatre, Theatre503, Kansas City Rep (USA), Ayyam Al-Masrah (Gaza), Clown Me In (Lebanon), and The Catalyst (Switzerland). As a twice-migrant and dual-heritage nomad, Ailin is passionate about cross-cultural and intercultural creative exchange and is a board member of Projekt Utopia.
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