Great song and dance show loses its sparkle during boring plot

The 2013 stage adaptation of the Astaire-Rogers musical with songs by Irving Berlin was revived last year at Chichester to good reviews  The London reviewers were not quite so impressed. They enjoyed songs like Cheek to Cheek, Let’s Face the Music and Dance, Top Hat, White Tie and Tails and Puttin’ on the Ritz, and the sparkling choreography by Kathleen Marshall but criticised the drawn-out, corny story. The two leads- Phillip Attmore and Amara Okereke– were complimented.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Marianka Seain, reviewing for the Telegraph, declared: ‘once you accept the madcap plotting, along with jokes so cheesy that they belong in a Christmas cracker, you can indulge in the fizzing, glamorous escapism. It’s all really just an excuse to stage exuberant ensemble numbers, as Marshall does with aplomb, and give the principals lovely spotlight moments.’

Clementine Scott for BroadwayWorld found it a ‘joy’. She enjoyed the two leads: ‘Attmore’s lithe tap dance work is a character unto itself, but his vocals are also charming and almost conversational at times. Okereke… manages to lend Dale a compelling blend of playfulness and sexual confidence’

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

Anya Ryan at LondonTheatre was disappointed: ‘the luxurious, big-chorus tap numbers… twinkle and soar and are everything you could possibly hope them to be. However, much of the other action that plays out on the Southbank’s circular stage is curiously muted. It feels as if the actors are stuck performing behind a gauze screen, their emotional reasoning never quite reaching us, and the romance between star performer Jerry Travers and fashion model Dale Tremont seems to lack genuine chemistry.’

The Standard’s Nick Curtis had a similar experience: ‘Though stylishly mounted with lavish tap and ballroom routines to Irving Berlin’s peerless songs, this adaptation … is a curiously flat affair. As long as director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall’s cast are singing and dancing it’s fine… But the slight and overextended romance that fills the gaps in between is sluggish where it should sparkle, the pace slow’.

Siobhan Murphy for The Stage noted: ‘The main drawback…is that stuffing the piece with so many extra songs stretches the whole thing to two and a half hours – so, despite Marshall’s best efforts, the dynamic energy that would send you out into the night desperate to shuffle-ball-change isn’t really there.’

The anonymous reviewer at London Theatre Reviews reported: ‘If you are looking for a show with spectacular dancing and nostalgic songs, this production delivers; the musical numbers are truly great. But you will need some patience for the story, which is not nearly as exciting as the footwork’.

2 stars ⭑⭑

Chris Selman at Gay Times was damning: ‘the singing is perfectly solid, the orchestrations are nice, the costumes look the part, the choreography impresses on occasion. But Top Hat falls flat largely because the narrative is just so flimsy.’

Critics’ average rating 3.2⭑

Value rating 26 (Value rating is the Average Rating divided by the most common weekend ticket price)

Click here for Paul Seven Lewis’ review of Top Hat at Chichester

You can see Top Hat at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London’s Southbank Centre until 17 January 2026 (Buy tickets directly from the Southbank Centre), then touring to Sheffield, Dublin, Glasgow, Eastbourne, Southend, Birmingham, Aberdeen, Norwich, Salford and Southampton.

If you’ve seen Top Hat at the Queen Elizabeth Hall or on tour, please add your review and/or rating below