Review: TOP HAT at the Southbank Centre

Date: 16th December 2025

Stars: 3

Top Hat at the Southbank Centre is generous, busy, and very good at entertaining an audience. It looks polished, it sounds great, and it keeps moving, which turns out to be exactly what the show needs – there’s no sense of it trying to reframe itself or add layers that aren’t there; it plays the material straight and trusts that to be enough.

The story barely asks for attention. It’s built around romantic misunderstandings and familiar turns, and it exists mainly to get people from one dance number to the next, and that’s not a criticism. Under Kathleen Marshall’s direction and choreography, movement is the storytelling. Scenes change because dancers carry them forward, not because anyone stops to explain what’s happening.

Phillip Attmore’s Jerry Travers has an easy confidence. He dances without showing off, sings cleanly, and never pushes the performance, and that relaxed approach suits the role and keeps it watchable. Amara Okereke brings warmth and presence to Dale Tremont, giving the character some weight and stopping her from becoming just part of the scenery. Their chemistry feels unforced, which helps the romance settle in naturally.

The supporting cast keep everything ticking along – Clive Carter and Sally Ann Triplett handle the comedy without dragging it out, and the ensemble work is tight, especially in the larger numbers, where the stage is busy but never messy.

Visually, the production is well judged. The costumes by Yvonne Milnes and Peter McKintosh are built for movement and actually move with the dancers, which sounds obvious but often isn’t, and Tim Mitchell’s lighting does what it needs to do and then gets out of the way.

The Irving Berlin score is treated with a light touch – the songs are well sung and placed carefully, without stopping the show dead for applause. Cheek to Cheek is handled beautifully, Let’s Face the Music and Dance does exactly what it says on the tin, and the evening keeps its rhythm.

What makes this Top Hat work is its confidence. It doesn’t reach for extra meaning or strain for emotion. It relies on strong performers, sharp choreography, and a score that still holds up, and that combination carries the show comfortably.