Amara Okereke Archives - North West End UK

17Dec

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

London

Top Hat the Musical – Southbank Centre

90 years after Irving Berlin’s 1935 classic film ‘Top Hat’, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers enthralled audiences, this latest musical adaptation by Matthew White and Howard Jacques is doing the same. The opening scene of ‘Putting on the Ritz’ kicks off the show with an energetic tapdancing routine readying the audience for a splendidly choreographed night that will thrill any ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ fan. The story is a simple love farce of mistaken identity. Jerry Travers (Phillip Attmore) is the big star of a new show Horace Hardwick (Clive Carter) is bankrolling. Jerry falls for the charms of Dale Tremont (Amara Okereke) and instantly love bombs her. Dale is at first unsure but then falls for him. Only to then erroneously think he is already married to her friend Madge Hard...

Echo – King’s Head Theatre

I’d never been to the King’s Head Theatre before, which is criminal considering its proximity to where I’ve lived for the majority of my life. It prides itself, and rightly so, on being the longest running theatre pub in London, having been established in 1970 and recently moving to a new home, just around the corner. It’s a fantastic space with friendly, welcoming staff, and the perfect setting for an intimate and atmospheric production. And so does Suan Eve Haar’s Echo (previously titled Saugerties and performed as a one act titled Paper Dolls) begin, with Jen and Roge celebrating their tenth anniversary in a quirky B&B. Their exchange is heated and at times somewhat confusing – emotions are constantly at 11 out of 10 and the two swing between love and hate at an alarming rate. Th...

My Fair Lady – London Coliseum

It’s hard to believe that ‘My Fair Lady’ is rapidly approaching its 60th anniversary. The classic tale, based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play ‘Pygmalion’, hasn’t been seen in London since the National Theatre’s Oliver-winning production in the early 2000s. Director Bartlett Sher’s 2018 Broadway production has now taken up residence at London’s Coliseum, where it plays until late summer. But is the story of plucky Eliza Doolittle’s transformation from common flower girl to sophisticated socialite at the teachings of Professor Henry Higgins still as “loverly” as it once was? The world has changed massively in the decades since the play and subsequent musical were written, in terms of attitudes towards women and gender equality, and in this regard “My Fair Lady” does s...