A dazzling Art Deco tap dance opera, with legendary tunes by Irving Berlin. There may be no more fitting way to describe this brilliant production of Top Hat. Not so much a spin-off from the 1935 film starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, as a genuine, and quite faithful, reinvention of it for our age.
The plot is thin and farcical. It rides on stock-in-trade clichés, with much of it set in a fantastical Venice, the marriage and honeymoon capital of the world. Not to mention, at least here, a hub of ‘haute couture’ as well as gondolas, the ‘couture’ a twist which becomes one of the drivers of the film’s mistaken-identity narrative. The plot is merely the vehicle for several spectacular singing and dancing numbers.
The set is a stunning, endlessly versatile Art Deco design: now it evokes 1930s New York City, with Empire State and Chrysler buildings, now London and Venice, now it morphs into rooms, dance floors, and suites. The entire show is rocking to the exhilarating sound of a live band firing on all cylinders under the baton of Stephen Ridley. Such is the turbo-charge of this relatively small orchestra – hidden from view of the audience – of violins, woodwinds, trumpets, trombone, drums, and double bass, that it alone provides a rare treat for anyone keen on Berlin’s glorious music. And if they are not, this band may make them so.
Inevitably the dance numbers are hugely demanding. The choreography of the ensemble dancing is impressive as are individual performances. The two leads of the show, Phillip Attmore (Jerry) and Amara Okereke (Dale), execute their dancing and singing with terrific aplomb. The show is, by its very nature, twinned with its 1935 forebear. One can therefore only imagine how demanding the two stars’ solos and minuets must have been to rehearse, against the backdrop of two of the greatest dancers of all time in their most successful collaboration. To tap-dance in the shadow of Astaire may be an impossible ask. His famous cane-sporting ‘Top Hat, White Tie and Tails’ solo – it concludes with members of the chorus mockingly ‘shot’ with Astaire’s cane – is suitably edited here, and done very well at that. In ‘Cheek to Cheek’ Attmore and Okereke loyally follow the intensely, almost micro-choreographed movements of the original. Such is the challenge of that very familiar song-and-dance minuet that they, and the entire artistic life support team of the show, should be congratulated for doing it justice. Not everyone will be familiar with Astaire and Rogers just gliding through the number. Just as well as such perfection is not really achievable on a live stage, where there are no retakes.
Then again there is nothing as invigorating or thrilling as a live performance, and this production is certainly funnier than the 1935 film. It is the more theatrically entertaining for it. Clive Carter as Horace, Sally Ann Triplett as Madge, James Clyde as Bates, and Alex Gibson-Giorgio as Alberto are superb in their (largely) non-dancing roles, providing a secure bedrock for the magic of the set pieces. The costumes are post-Depression Gatsby, and thus gel with the Art Deco set and feel of the show. To take on Top Hat and do it so well is a huge credit to the ensemble. If there is an occasional feel of roughness around a handful of the edges, that may just be an impression garnered from over-familiarity and comparison with the original. Probably no-one has ever danced (and sung at the same time) as well as Fred Astaire, but for a live show this is as good a Top Hat as it gets in this town.
Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall
Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin
Based on RKO’s Motion Picture
Adapted for the stage by Matthew White & Howard Jacques
Director and choreographer: Kathleen Marshall,
Set Designer: Peter McKintosh
Costumes: Yvonne Milnes & Peter McKintosh
Cast includes: Phillip Attmore (Jerry), Amara Okereke (Dale), Clive Carter (Horace), Sally Ann Triplett (Madge), James Clyde (Bates), Alex Gibson-Giorgio (Alberto), Rhiannon Bacchus (Ensemble)
Until: 17 January 2026
Running time: 2 hrs 30 mins, with one interval.