You never know when your red carpet might flood and you end up at a tea party.
On Sunday afternoon, the BAFTA Tea Party at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel offered a safe haven to the cast of Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri’s “Clarissa,” after their New York Film Festival premiere was hit with Sunday’s rain storm. The film’s cast, including India Amarteifio, Toheeb Jimoh, Ayo Edebiri, David Oyelowo and Sophie Okonedo, joined Sebastian Stan, Carrie Preston, Peyton Elizabeth Lee and more at the tea party.
“Clarissa,” which premieres on Dec. 11, is a modern-day reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs Dalloway” set in Lagos Nigeria.
“Having so many people from the diaspora on one screen, in one setting and also filmed completely on the continent is incredibly rare. To be a part of it is so special,” Amarteifio said. “Especially for the present-day cast. They’ve all known each other for decades working in the industry and have never actually been able to be in one project together.”
India Amarteifio and Toheeb Jimoh
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Filming took place in Lagos, Nigeria, which was a first for many of the cast to be able to work on the continent.
“I had an amazing time. It felt almost like a homecoming for me,” Amarteifio added. “I’m not Nigerian — I’m half English and half Ghanaian — but being in West Africa felt incredibly warm and communal. I felt very welcomed. The setting the environment, the culture, the food — I was completely immersed taking in my surroundings.”
Amarteifio, who starred as Queen Charlotte in Shonda Rhimes’ “Bridgerton” spin-off “Queen Charlotte,” said if she were to assume the role of queen again, her tea party would be a more eccentric and unconventional experience.
“Self-expression. Just do something that’s different and against the grain,” she said. “Something you wouldn’t immediately think of when it came to a tea party, see what you came up with.”
Carrie Preston
Lexie Moreland/WWD
Her “Clarissa” costar Jimoh also strays from the norm for his beverage rituals.
“I’m not really a big tea drinker. I mean, Moroccan mint tea is one that I will do,” the actor said. “I went to Morocco earlier this year and I’m obsessed with that one. I’ll take a hot chocolate if I have to.”
“If someone tries to force me to have some tea, you might hear some kerfuffle in the back,” he added. “If you hear someone screaming and shouting, it’s me.”
Jimoh also stars in the upcoming film adaptation of Caleb Azumah Nelson’s critically acclaimed book “Open Water,” which is a love story set in South East London.
“I can’t wait for people to see it. We literally wrapped two weeks ago and I hope they hurry up in the edit because I can’t wait to watch it,” he said. “There’s nothing like it.”
John Turturro
Lexie Moreland/WWD
Preston also made an appearance on the carpet with season four of her show “Elsbeth” premiering next week. The comedy drama is a spinoff of “The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight” and follows Elsbeth Tascioni, an attorney turned detective.
Preston humbly denounced any potential of her own sleuthing skills in real life.
“I think I can solve how to learn all the lines,” she said with a chuckle. “If I was to have to solve an actual murder, I don’t think you would want me to be doing that. Luckily I play a character who’s really good at it.”
The evening continued with skyline views from the 36th floor of the Mandarin Oriental and a spread of tea and finger foods to snack on, though many of the guests opted for champagne instead of earl gray.