Stepping into Fred Astaire's shoes at Chichester Festival Theatre

SussexWorld

In Top Hat this summer, Phillip Attmore is playing an American who comes to England and falls in love with an English girl – which is precisely what he did in real life.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon. My name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Really

00:06lovely to speak to Philip Atman this afternoon. Now, Philip, you are taking the lead in Top

00:11Hat, but just plus the theatre, the big summer musical. And it's so appropriate in so many

00:15ways. This is a role that you've dreamed of for years. And goodness, this is art aping

00:21life, isn't it? Because you're an American coming to England, playing someone who falls

00:26in love with an Englishwoman, which is precisely what you've done, isn't it?

00:30A story. That's right. Yes, I'm from Los Angeles originally, and also New York. And yes, my

00:39wife is English. We met randomly in Stoke-on-Trent, England. And yeah, and we'll be celebrating

00:47our 10-year anniversary right after opening night for Top Hat. So, you know, talk about

00:53an American coming to England, falling in love and celebrating the story of that, you

00:57know.

00:58How wonderful. Now, so this is a show that's been on your horizon, basically, since the

01:03age of seven. Why is this one that really tickles your fancy?

01:08You know, it's being able to step into the shoes of one of my idols, step into the shoes

01:17of Mr. Astaire. And it's both scary and exciting and charging, if that makes sense. Because it's

01:29something that I have dreamt of, you know, I've grown up watching Fred Astaire, I've grown

01:34up watching Gene Kelly and Gregory Hines and some of these great song and dance men who are

01:41also tap dancers. And I so love the art form. I so appreciate what goes into playing a role

01:53that requires singing and dancing and acting. I'm more excited than I am fearful because

01:59I think the idea of, I'm prepared to step into this role. And at the same time, it's a group,

02:10it's recognized that the great challenge that it is.

02:15Well, do you allow yourself to think what it was that Fred Astaire had that no one else

02:20had? And then think just a bit of that. What do you take from him?

02:23Yes. Well, I think Mr. Astaire, especially when you come, when you look at like movie musical stars

02:32and you think Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, I think they're two sides of the same coin. Fred Astaire

02:38is white collar and Gene Kelly is blue collar. Fred Astaire is up, Gene Kelly is down and both

02:47are smooth. And, um, and yet with great feet, you know, buttery voices and debonair. And so, um,

02:58I think, you know, with, when, when it comes to playing Fred Astaire, it's just, there's no greater

03:04gift than, you know, in this show, we open with putting on the wrist to have a big band opening

03:09and to know the first few bars is all an introduction to you becoming that role. And,

03:18you know, in a way with that kind of setup, um, it is, it's like taken off, you know? And, um,

03:30yeah. And so it, it, it, in a way, because, you know, I've put in the work and praying my whole

03:35life for this, um, the other element is the live, is the, the gift of the music that is

03:42Irving Berlin and live music that sort of kicks into gear, this becoming that type of role,

03:51if that makes sense. Well, I'm sure you're going to serve up an absolutely fantastic summer for us.

03:57Oh, I'm so excited. And Philip, lovely to speak to you. Thank you so much.

04:02I'll definitely speak to you as well, Phil. Yeah.

04:04What's going on?

04:05What's going on?

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