Amara Okereke

Amarachi Wereuche A. Okereke (born 1996) is an English actress. She is known for her work in theatre.

Amara Okereke
Born1996 (age 26–27)
North Tyneside, England[1]
Alma materArtsEd (BA)
Years active2013–present

Early life and education

Okereke was born in North Tyneside in 1996, the only daughter of two Nigerian medical professionals.[2] She grew up in Adel, Leeds[3] and attended the Grammar School at Leeds.[4] As a teenager, Okereke joined the National Youth Music Theatre. She went on to study at the Arts Educational School (ArtsEd) in West London, graduating in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in musical theatre.[5]

Career

In 2012, Okereke made her debut in the West End as a child actress, playing Cassie in 13 at the Apollo Theatre.[6] Upon graduating from ArtsEd in 2018, she returned to the West End and joined the cast of Les Misérables at the Queen's Theatre.[7] For her performance as Cosette, Okereke won Best Actress in a Musical at The Stage Debut Awards.

This was followed by roles as Laurie in Oklahoma! at Chichester Festival Theatre,[8] Polly Browne in The Boy Friend at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2019,[9] and Wendla in Spring Awakening at the Almeida Theatre in 2021.[10]

In 2022, Okereke became the first black actress to star as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady for its West End revival at the London Coliseum, alongside Harry Hadden-Paton and Vanessa Redgrave.[11][12] For her performance, Okereke won the Black British Theatre Award for Outstanding Performance in a Musical.[13] That same year, she made her television debut as Becky Fox in the BBC Three horror series Red Rose and appeared in The Light in the Piazza at Alexandra Palace.[14][15]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2022 Red Rose Becky Fox 2 episodes
TBA In the Lost Lands Melange

Stage
Year Title Role Notes
2012 13 Cassie Apollo Theatre, London
2018 Les Misérables Cosette Queen's Theatre, London
2019 Oklahoma! Laurie Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester
The Boy Friend Polly Browne Menier Chocolate Factory, London
2021 Spring Awakening Wendla Almeida Theatre, London
2022 My Fair Lady Eliza Doolittle London Coliseum
The Light in the Piazza Ciara Johnson Alexandra Palace Theatre, London

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2018 The Stage Debut Awards Best Actress in a Musical Les Misérables Won
2019 Black British Theatre Awards Recent Graduate Won [16]
2022 Outstanding Performance in a Musical My Fair Lady Won [13]

References
  1. "Sunday in the Park with Amara Okereke". The Diary of a Theatre Kid. 19 October 2018. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  2. Lang, Kirsty (8 May 2022). "My Fair Lady — with the first black Eliza". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.(subscription required)
  3. "Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards 2018: Here are the winners from the ceremony at Leeds United's Centenary Pavilion". Yorkshire Evening Post. 9 November 2018. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  4. "Amara Okereke to play Eliza Doolittle". The Grammar School at Leeds. 29 March 2022. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  5. "Inaugural Black British Theatre Award for 2018 Musical Theatre Graduate, Amara Okereke". ArtsEd. 29 October 2019. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  6. "Jason Robert Brown stages NYMT concert at Apollo, 26 August". WhatsOnStage. 17 February 2012. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  7. Ryan, Anya (29 March 2022). "Introducing the new Eliza Doolittle, Amara Okereke, who is the star of the May issue". Tatler. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  8. "Amara Okereke". TresA Magazine. 12 August 2019. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  9. Spivey, Madeleine (5 December 2019). "The Boy Friend at the Menier Chocolate Factory: watch Janie Dee, Adrian Edmondson and Amara Okereke on opening night". WhatsOnStage. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  10. "Five Questions With: Amara Okereke". Musical Theatre Review. 26 November 2021. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  11. Christi, AA (24 February 2022). "Amara Okereke, Harry Haddon-Paton and Vanessa Redgrave to Lead MY FAIR LADY West End". Broadway World. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  12. Thompson, Jessie (22 April 2022). "Amara Okereke interview: We're going to have a black Eliza Doolittle in the West End - it's phenomenal". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  13. Wood, Alex (2022-10-16). "Black British Theatre Awards 2022 winners announced". WhatsOnStage. Archived from the original on 2023-06-15. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  14. Wood, Alex (8 September 2022). "Amara Okereke and Jordan Luke Gage join "The Light in the Piazza"". WhatsOnStage. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  15. "Amara Okereke - My Fair Lady - London Coliseum". English National Opera. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  16. "Amara Okereke wins at the Debut Stage Awards!". The British Blacklist. 24 September 2018. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
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