Grace Mouat
26th June 2024
Photographer & Editor-in-chief: Owen James Vincent
Digital Editor: Pankhuri Bhutani
Interview: Emily Durham
Photographer Assistant: Ruby May
Retoucher: Danielle Painting
Wardrobe, Make Up & Hair: Fiona Middlehurst, Maxine Tiara, Elyse Mansfield and Georgia Woodland
A big thanks to Rozzie at Dawbell
Grace Mouat is painting the West End pink as she stars as Karen Smith in London’s original adaptation of MEAN GIRLS. Joining ReVamp to give us a sneak peak into her newfound life in the Plastics, Grace reflects on her own high school experiences, favourite one liners and spills all the North Shore gossip on new songs and surprises!
Hello Grace. Thanks for being here on ReVamp! How are you?
Thank you so much for having me! I love ReVamp! I am doing great, loving the show and the vibes at work. Very grateful to call this a job!
Kudos on being a part of this musical of 'Mean Girls'!
Thank you so much! I have dreamt of being involved in the show since the rumours that it was coming to London began so it is such an honour!
This year is the 20th anniversary of Mean Girls the movie, were you a fan of the original growing up? And if so, how excited are you to be originating the musical in the West End?
Yes I think it was always just there when I was growing up and all the iconic quotes are just in my vocabulary so I am SO excited to get to put my own stamp on Karen!
Will it be the Mean Girls that we all know and love? Are the iconic lines still included in the show, and how far does it stray from the original or what we have seen on Broadway?
The lines you know and love are still there of course! However, it truly is Mean Girls as you’ve never seen it before!
I think it is the perfect balance of staying true to the broadway original but with a fresh new spin that makes it perfect for a 2024 London Audience!
It has been said that there are new songs in the show. What sneak peaks can you tell us about those and do you have a favourite, either an original or new material?
I can tell you that they are BOPS! My fav is the end of act 1 (no spoilers)!!
Photo taken by Brinkhoff/Mögenburg
The show is set in North Shore High School, growing up what was school like for you? Did you have cliques? Was there a group of ‘cool’ kids? Is there anything about the show that makes you reflect on your own experience in high school?
Oh absolutely! I used to be in all the groups including the ‘cool’ group HA! I’ve always loved meeting people and extra curricular activities so I surrounded myself with lots of fun people at school. At the time I thought I didn’t think I ‘belong’ anywhere but looking back, I think it was definitely for the best! However, my favourite memories were with my theatre friends in the drama block. 2 of those, Natalie and Nicole are now my best friends and I was a bridesmaid for Nicole back in May. Cuteeee!
Karen is one of the plastics, she is comedic and absolutely clueless. What has been your favourite part so far about playing such a comedic role and what has been a more challenging aspect of Karen?
I have loved finding the heart in the character and making her my own version. She is just in her own world ( a bit like me HA) and I think that’s where we learn we learn the most sometimes! So actually, she is smart. But her OWN kind of smart and that’s what makes her an icon slay queen.
When playing such a legendary role and one which is so iconic in pop culture, people already have very distinct perceptions of Karen when coming to watch the show. How do you balance staying true to the audience’s expectations of who Karen is, while also putting your own stamp and originality onto her as an actor?
I have noticed the audiences seem to be enjoying our own stamps on these characters (I hope). Of course, there are some intonations in iconic lines that I have tried to keep similar but apart from that, a lot of my version is quite similar to myself. I think an audience just likes to see a character embracing their quirks and authenticity which is absolutely what Karen does and is something that makes her so loveable.
Karen has so many iconic one liners in the show, do you have a favourite line that she says? And is there one that you are most excited for to see the audience’s reaction?
Ok no spoilers but I love the line about eyebrows in act 1 and I love the reaction to a new section for Karen in act 2 because it gets a different reaction every night which is always a fun challenge as an actor!
What can you tell us about this 'Mean Girls' musical and any message you have for the fans?
This truly is the ultimate night out and I hope audiences can leave feeling absolutely BUZZING and ready to conquer the world! I think the message I am LIVING for especially whilst doing this show is the beauty of marching to the beat of your own drum! You do you and watch your world transform the best! You are amazing!!
Tickets for Mean Girls (Based on the book by Tina Fey/Directed by Casey Nicholaw/Producers- Lorne Michaels, Sonia Friedman Productions, and Crossroads Live) can be found here.