Phillip Attmore and Amara Okereke are dancing cheek to cheek in 'Top Hat'

The Golden Age of Hollywood takes to the stage this Christmas when Top Hat comes to London. Stars Phillip Attmore and Amara Okereke talk fancy footwork, falling in love, and the legacy of Fred and Ginger.

Summary

• Phillip Attmore and Amara Okereke are starring in Top Hat at the Southbank Centre in London
• They follow in the footsteps of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
• The madcap romance features the music of Irving Berlin

"It’s very much life imitating art!” laughs Phillip Attmore. Just like his character Jerry Travers – originally played by Fred Astaire in the 1935 movie Top Hat – Attmore is an American star tempted to London by a glittering show. His acclaimed Broadway productions include the Bette Midler-led Hello, Dolly! and Shuffle Along, with Audra McDonald, for which Attmore won an Astaire Award.

Now his talented leading lady is Amara Okereke, who has impressed in the West End’s Les Misérables and My Fair Lady. Okereke is following in the nimble footsteps of Ginger Rogers, and, more recently, Lucy St Louis, who led the Chichester Festival Theatre revival of Top Hat this summer.

Combine a madcap romance with sublime dancing and Irving Berlin’s incomparable music, and it’s no wonder that Top Hat was a huge hit in Chichester and is now heading to London. It’s another escapist treat from director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall, who previously brought us Anything Goes. Attmore and Okereke talk to London Theatre Magazine about their new partnership and the special joy of doing a big musical at Christmas.

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Who do you play in Top Hat?
Okereke: I play Dale Tremont, a fashion model and socialite who travels the world. She’s in London doing her thing when she bumps into this guy. She’s no-nonsense, so she’s not letting him sway her too much, until she does eventually fall for him. Then she comes to believe he’s someone else who is married and has been lying to her, so she’s trying to get away from him while he’s trying to tell her the truth. It’s like a Shakespearean mistaken identity love story.

Attmore: I play Jerry Travers, a celebrated Broadway star making his West End debut. He’s not looking for love, as his song “No Strings” illustrates, but then he encounters this magical Dale Tremont. Once we find love we lose it, so the thing we found in the beginning is the thing we chase until the end.

What was it like joining the production, Amara?
Okereke: I felt very lucky – everyone was so willing to find a brand-new show alongside me. Phillip and I have our own specific connection. Dale is gorgeous to play: she knows her own mind, she has her job, her plan, but she’s still a girl. She’s open to being charmed and falling in love.

Attmore: I said to Amara from the beginning: “We’re going to find our Jerry and Dale.” We found our chemistry very quickly. It’s been very fun, getting to create the role in this revival cast, and then find a new version with Amara. That’s the magic of theatre: it changes depending on who you’re sharing the stage with.

Okereke: I also love getting to do the comedy. It’s such a wonderfully silly plot – you can’t help but get swept up in it. It gives the audience permission to escape to another world for a few blissful hours.

Is it particularly meaningful for you as actors of colour to play these iconic roles?
Attmore: Absolutely. From age three, I was watching every film starring Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, these brilliant song-and-dance men who embody musical theatre. I performed “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails” for the first time when I was seven. I’m now playing my dream role, and getting to pay homage to one of my heroes, as well as to the other great Black performers who influenced and danced alongside Astaire, but didn’t have the same platform as him.

Okereke: It’s an opportunity to unlock a world of Black artistry that has been hidden away. It’s beautiful to see it celebrated. This representation means a lot to people: I always think back to My Fair Lady, coming to the stage door and meeting young Black girls who were thrilled to see someone who looked like them playing Eliza.

What makes Irving Berlin’s songs so beloved?
Attmore: You can tell the beauty of a song when all you need to hear is one chord and you know exactly what it’s going to be. The moment we start singing “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” or “Cheek to Cheek”, you can see a huge smile on the face of everyone in the audience.

What’s your favourite number in the show?
Okereke: Every single night I come down and watch “Top Hat” at the end of Act One. I never, ever get tired of it. Phillip is totally in his element.

Attmore: My favourites always change, but right now it’s “Isn’t This a Lovely Day (To Be Caught in the Rain)?”. It’s the perfect depiction of how Jerry and Dale fall in love instantly through song and dance.

Amara, are you tempted to smuggle your incredible costumes home?
Okereke: Don’t tempt me! They’re just stunning. The colours, the way the dresses move on stage, it’s extraordinary. The feathers do follow me home – I find feathers everywhere.

Is it special doing a big musical in London at Christmas?
Okereke: It really is, and I couldn’t think of a better show to come and watch over Christmas than Top Hat. To be able to perform it and share that joy with all these families who’ve come out to see us, I’m just so excited.

Attmore: It’s the biggest treat for us. I’ve got two little ones, aged five and three, who are completely psyched. My wife is English, so this has been a lovely opportunity for us to bring our family over and have our first Christmas together in London. Top Hat is the gift that keeps on giving.

Book Top Hat tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

This article first appeared in the December 2025 issue of London Theatre Magazine.

Photo credit: Phillip Attmore and Amara Okereke. (Courtesy of production)