Review: Top Hat
in the Queen Elizabeth Hall @ the Southbank Centre until January 17th 2026
Directors: Kathleen Marshall
Writer: Irving Berlin
Adapted by: Matthew White & Howard Jacques
Cast: Phillip Attmore (understudied by Jordan Oliver), Amara Okereke, Clive Carter, Sally Ann Triplett & James Clyde
Given that the classic film on which this is based is almost a century old, it may surprise you to learn that Top Hat was first adapted for the stage as late as 2011, and initially premiered not in the glitz and glamour of the West End but rather in the dirt and drudgery of Milton Keynes (no offence to what I’m sure is actually a lovely city). Directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, whose most major recent achievement was her acclaimed production of Anything Goes at the Barbican, this revival debuted in North America before transferring to Chichester and, now, to the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre, where it took the festive slot and runs until mid-January before embarking on a UK-wide tour.
Let’s start with the positives: the tap sequences are impressive, and Jordan Oliver, understudying for Phillip Attmore as leading man Jerry, is a great dancer. Amara Okereke, as Dale, has a fabulous voice, and her solo numbers are real highlights of the show. The two biggest hits of the night - ‘Cheek to Cheek’ and ‘Let’s Face the Music and Dance’ - are solidly, if unremarkably, done, and the set design, which transforms the stage into a hotel lobby, a dance hall, a bridal suite, a cocktail bar and more, is gorgeous. Sally Ann Triplett, as Madge, is a camp delight, and her rapport with Clive Carter, who plays Horace, Madge’s husband, is good fun.
Where Top Hat flounders, however, is in how safe and functional is. The set looks spectacular but is not used to its full potential, or indeed anything close to it, and so the staging all feels tepid and lacking in imagination. The humour, which is overly corny and dated, strays lazily into a sort of bizarre xenophobia for no particular reason, with nobody on the stage really able to sell the gags in a convincing way, while the show lacks a certain energy, or ‘oomph’, that lessens the impact of the musical numbers. The result is a show that very much feels like it’s going through the motions to no real aim.
Furthermore, comedies of errors like this live or die by their ability to strike just the right balance between absurdity and believability. The preposterousness of the scenario, which relies on people making increasingly silly decisions, must be matched by the natural charm and charisma of the two romantic leads; if we don’t believe in them or want them to succeed, the whole enterprise falls apart. Though I concede that I didn’t get to see Phillip Attmore as Jerry, and while Jordan Oliver did a commendable job in the role, the chemistry between the two leads at the performance I saw was all but non-existent, and it was thus impossible to invest in their characters and their romance. Okereke’s performance in particular felt stilted, as though she was not confident when not belting out a ballad (which, as I’ve already said, she does excellently) and her interactions with Oliver never felt anything other than forced. Accordingly, the balance tipped much too heavily towards an irritating absurdity, and I struggled to care what happened to these characters.
I wanted to like this more than I did. I’m sure there’s an audience out there for a show like this, and I suspect it’ll thrive touring the country, but for me, so much of this just felt like a wasted opportunity to do something fresh and exciting while still respecting the show’s classic origins.
Score: ⭐⭐