Five Questions With: Amara Okereke

Amara Okereke in rehearsal for Spring Awakening at the Almeida Theatre, London. Pictures: Marc Brenner

AMARA OKEREKE plays Wendla in the Almeida Theatre’s revival of award-winning musical Spring Awakening, running from 7 December 2021 to 22 January 2022.

Amara won The Stage Debut Award for Best Actress in a Musical for playing Cosette in Les Misérables. Her other theatre credits include The Boy Friend (Menier Chocolate Factory); Oklahoma! (Chichester Festival Theatre); 13 The Musical (West End); The Hired Man; and West Side Story (National Youth Music Theatre). Her television work includes the forthcoming Red Rose.

Rupert Goold directs Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s acclaimed musical, based on the ground-breaking and once-banned 19th century play by Frank Wedekind, in its first London revival since the 2009 UK premiere.

Here Amara continues Musical Theatre Review’s interview series: Five Questions With…

After all the disruption caused by Covid, what is it like to be back to work on Spring Awakening, to be in a rehearsal room at last and creating something with the rest of the company?

The heightened sense of anticipation has left me with huge feelings of excitement, nerves, joy and fear, often all at once. It has been just as wonderful as it has been terrifying to be back in a rehearsal room, creating the show I’d spent what now feels like the last decade waiting to do. It sort of feels like the very first time again, and as nerve-wracking as any first time can be, nothing really beats rediscovering the incredible feeling of being a part of a company and creating something great.

Can you tell us a bit more about how you became involved in the production and what it has been like to work with director Rupert Goold?

I auditioned for the production back at the start of 2020 when Covid was still just a whisper and there were vague rumours of a two-week lockdown. I didn’t know very much about the musical itself so I listened to the soundtrack and read the script and was instantly absorbed and very keen to know more about how this production would interpret the piece. Knowing Rupert Goold was directing was particularly intriguing and I had no doubt this would be a great project to be a part of, as well as a wonderful opportunity to learn a lot. In just a few weeks of working with Rupert I feel like I’ve already learnt more than I could have expected and I feel incredibly blessed to get to be a part of this piece.

Emily Ooi, Amara Okereke and Maia Tamrakar

The role of Wendla is a tragic and complex one, how have you approached the character and the journey she goes on?

Wendla’s story is incredibly tragic and heartbreaking and painfully not uncommon. While most might not have gone through the journey she does, the common themes in her story are about being denied and being silenced, something anyone can go through. Much like all of the characters in Spring Awakening there are endless parallels between what they experience in the show and what many young people deal with in real life. I think to understand and approach something like this you have to acknowledge the consequences of these experiences, particularly for young people who are most vulnerable to it.

It must be exciting to be part of this first London revival of the show since the 2009 UK premiere. How do you think the themes of the shows resonate in 2021, particularly with a younger audience?

The show focuses around the adults’ control over the young teenagers, stifling their natural urge to explore, understand and experience the world around them. Pushing for obedience in exchange for their children’s happiness. They are expected to control themselves without any real explanation as to how or why. Young people today are expected to take control of their future and are weighted with this heavy sense of responsibility yet are silenced, ridiculed or flat out ignored when they attempt to be vocal and active, under the guise that their lack of life experience makes their opinions less valid.

So much goes on in the world that will cause directly negative effects on the futures of the younger generations and yet young people have no control or say over the damage that is being done over and over again.

Innovative use of social media and the power of online presence has proven to the incoming generation that we have power amongst ourselves and yet it still feels like our voices are not being heard. We’re left to sit and watch as people not only contribute to this damage but are often apathetic to it. In the world of Spring Awakening, much like in the real world, there is an expectation of control without any opportunity for it. And as a result young people pay the highest price.

Impossible question, but can you pick out a special highlight from your career so far?

As much as it sounds like a cop-out answer, every single performance opportunity has felt like a career highlight for me. Just the fact that I’ve been able to be a part of so many brilliant productions and work with so many incredible people is overwhelmingly thrilling and I feel so lucky and proud of the work I’ve been able to do, I don’t think I could possibly pick any specific moment as a highlight!