REVIEW - Top Hat is a gratifying night of Hollywood glamour wrapped up in a fizzing musical that dresses to impress!

We went to Lowry in Salford to see Top Hat. Read what our reviewer Karen Ryder had to say about this fabulous musical...

There is something so exuberant about the golden age of Hollywood movie musicals, evoking feelings, emotions, and physical responses way before you ever begin to speak any words to describe them.  The music, the glamour, the possibility of fame, dreams and love are a potently addictive recipe that feed our desires with hope and longing.  They bring that shimmering glitz within reach of our own world, all the while hypnotising us with heady melodies, intoxicating dance routines, and thrilling costumes and spectacle. Transfer all of that live onto stage and it not only brings the dream within inches of our beating hearts but forces us to connect on a whole other level as we are swept up in the wonderful world of Irving Berlin.  A vintage, vibrant, voluminous musical, get ready to be dazzled by the vivacious top class of Top Hat.  




Jerry Travers has dance in his soul.  A famous Broadway performer who has arrived in London to headline a show, his infectious love of dance is how he expresses himself, and so if he is enthused late at night in his hotel room and you just happen to be in the room underneath him, as Dale Tremont is, well – his tantalising toe tapping might not be the kind of room service you were after!  Furious at his lack of consideration, Dale rages into his room and gives him what for.  In her frenzied state, she mistakes Jerry for producer Horace Hardwick and is less than impressed when he makes his attraction to her obvious, for Horace is a married man!  Confused and disappointed by what she believes are his cheating advances, Dale travels to Venice and confides in new friend Madge about the cheating Horace, the complications setting in because Horace also just happens to be Madge’s husband!  With the multi-talented help of Bates the butler, what follows is a romantically charged farce of mistaken identity, set against a backdrop of elegance, style, and of course glitz and glamour.  With a stunning art deco design, fabulous costumes, and the glorious Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers inspired dancing that spans beautiful ballroom to tingling tap, we are swept along some of the best Irving Berlin music ever written.   

Top Hat on stage leans way more into the comedy than the film version does and I love this, as it makes allowances for over the top elements of the story, such as declarations of love upon meeting someone for the first time, but it also allows us to accept the aging of the story with sentimental charm rather than rebuking its unlikelihood.  It shows that it doesn’t take its theme too seriously and is merely exploring the options involved at love at first sight in an era that loved fierce, fast, and hard.  The story, adapted for stage by Matthew White and Howard Jacques, is funny and fast, and though the characters find themselves in a tangle of confusion, the story itself is uncomplicated, leaving plenty of lavish space for the star turn of song and dance.  Directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, Top Hat will have you sitting a little straighter, lifting your chin a little higher, and give you an extra twinkle in your eye as you feel the spectacular rhythm of dance embrace your heart.

Phillip Attmore (Hello Dolly, White Christmas, Singin’ In The Rain, 42^nd Street) instantaneously taps his way into your heart as the charming Jerry Travers and leads us into an impeccable opening number of Puttin’ On The Ritz.  Most shows save this kind of impressive indulgence for their eleven o’ clock number, but the gauntlet is laid down from the off and we never look back!  Attmore was born to dance.  You not only see it, you feel it in every nuance, every breath his body takes, he allows the music and dance to speak from his toes right through to his fingertips, and he makes us understand its language.  He is a phenomenal dancer that made me cry my musical theatre tears of unadulterated joy within the first number! 

Nicole-Lily Baisden (Harry Potter & The Cursed Child, 42^nd Street, Anything Goes) is a star as Dale Tremont for she is so effortless in everything she does.  Slick, quick, strong, heartfelt, we see all sides of the coin, making this character (that in all honesty I have not always warmed to), understood, admired, and delighted by.  Pumping our hearts with adrenaline in the big numbers, she simplifies things in number such as Better Luck Next Time and holds the theatre in a silence of admiration.  Together, Attmore and Baisden float on air one moment in numbers such as Cheek To Cheek before packing a punch in numbers such as Let’s Face The Music And Dance, making each iconic song fresh and new, as if being performed for the first time.

James Hume (Kiss Me Kate, A Christmas Carol, Phantom Of The Opera) is brilliant as the bumbling British producer Horace Hardwick.  His timing is mesmerising, knowing exactly how and when to elicit a giggle from this eager audience.  He plays around with pause too, always in control of when to capture the humour in just about everything.  This is great character acting and when paired with Emma Williams (Half A Sixpence, Annie Get Your Gun, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) as the strong and solid Madge Harwick, it is fabulous.  With perfectly pitched dry humour, sardonic wit, and delightful cynicism, Emma Williams wonderfully balances out Jerry’s floating on air approach to love.  She has some cracking one liners, making the audience belly laugh time and time again, and shows the endurance she feels of being married to Horace with an underlying love that means she never seems unnecessarily mean.  It is a finely tuned and well-balanced performance of “I can call my husband names, but if you do, I’ll have you!”  Together Hume and Williams give us characters who are the antithesis of Jery and Dale, and they bounce off each other with warmth, trust, and fabulous cheek.  This is why their duet, Outside Of That I Love You, brought the house down.

The brilliantly comedic Bates, master of disguise, is brought to life by the fabulous James Clyde (Matilda, Jane Eyre, Romeo & Juliet).  His physical comedy is sublime, his vocal delivery serving up a whole new level of entertainment.  With an array of voices, accents, and surprises up his sleeve, his ability to play such comedy with such deadpan humour is an absolute joy and breaths new life into this classic.  This evening, Zak Edwards (Harmony, An American In Paris, Mary Poppins) brought us the larger-than-life Alberto Beddini.  Fuelled by fabulousness and flamboyance, he brings us glamour, fashion, passion, arrogance and we love his drama!  He could so easily have his own spin off show in today’s world, an influencer in the making for sure!




To hear Irving Berlin's music flooding the air at Lowry in their glorious Lyric Theatre was something special.  You cannot escape the opulence these songs ignite, the cacophony of memories we all have associated with them.  They are the melodies to we have danced to, loved to, had first wedding dances to, shared with friends, named pets after, the list is endless.  Cheek To Cheek, Let’s Face The Music And Dance, Puttin’ On The Ritz, Top Hat White Tie And Tails, No Strings, Puttin’ All My Eggs In One Basket, each song is a classic that has not only stood the test of time, but thrived!  With performances staged around a central semi-circle set that rotates, it places an even greater emphasis on movement and dance, as was Astaire’s intention when choreographing for the movie.  It also allows for swift scene changes, easily transporting us between a London hotel room and then lobby, a club or a stage, supported by projections that whisk us from London to Venice in a flash.  That gorgeous 1930’s Art Deco decadence is everywhere, giving authenticity without it ever feeling dated.  The clean lines mirror the beauty and elegance of the dance, whilst offering large shapes to encompass this outstanding cast who have song and dance in their veins.

As you’d expect, we are treated to many a top hat and tails from the costume department, and there is just something so special seeing someone glammed up in this way.  With a stunning twist on that Ginger Rogers feather dress and plenty of sparkles throughout, this is a visual treat for sure.  Top Hat is a gratifying night of Hollywood glamour wrapped up in a fizzing musical that dresses to impress.  It is an easy, light-hearted, fulfilling night for any musical theatre lover, especially those who love a nod to the old school showbiz song and dance way of doing things.  It will make you smile, make you tap your toes, and make your heart sing as you revel its glamour and class.  I tip my hat to Top Hat, and as the song sings, your presence is requested this evening, (or any afternoon or evening) until Saturday 4^th April 2026, so start those toes a tapping Salford, and get yourself down to Lowry!  Top hat, white tie and tails are optional!

WE SCORE TOP HAT...




Top Hat is on at Lowry in Salford until Saturday 4th April 2026.


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