Sheffield Lyceum – until Saturday 24th January 2026
Reviewed by Adam Craddock
5*****
Tonight myself and my very very own Ginger Rogers had the delight of being invited along to Sheffield Lyceum to review the touring production of “Top Hat” following its acclaimed run at Chichester Festival Theatre. This is a show I’ve never actually seen before but I’ve always wanted to, I love a classic old school MGM style musical and from everything I’d seen of this on social media it looked promising, and boy it did not disappoint!
Top Hat follows the smooth talking and even smoother dancing Broadway star Jerry Travers as he treads the boards in London for a limited run and falls in love with the fashion model Dale Tremont. I won’t spoil the plot but needless to say a farce ensues filled with brilliant comedy, gorgeous songs and astounding dance routines, just as you would expect from a show based on a classic Fred and Ginger movie!
Phillip Attmore stars as Jerry Travers. It may sound cliche but sometimes you watch a show and feel like a performer was created to play a certain part, and that is exactly how I felt about Attmore as Jerry. His charm, suaveness and flow of movement were all absolutely perfect for the role and I truly commend the casting team for finding an actor who can deliver this well on scuba difficult role. Lindsay Atherton (cover) was fantastic as Dale Tremont. Her ballsy portrayal was delightful and her dance duets with Attmore were beautiful, she had the most fabulous line! James Hume was absolutely brilliant as Horace Hardwick, having my partner snorting with laughter in the scene where he hides in the bedroom. His whole performance and lack of backbone were comedy gold! Kirsty Sparks (cover) was strong as Madge Hardwick, playing well off Hume as her husband. Alex Gibson-Giorgio was hilarious as Alberto Beddini. His eccentric performance as the Italian fashion designer was absolutely crazy and completely perfect for the role, particularly in his fabulous solo number. James Clyde was equally funny as Bates, showing that even if a character has limited stage time that doesn’t mean they can’t steal the scenes they are in. His interactions with Horace were particularly funny in the first act.
In terms of the production as a whole I have to say this is top notch. From the ensemble to the staging, lighting to costume everything was absolutely perfect… bar one thing. The whole first act in particular was plagued by mics dropping in and out, nothing turned on when someone would enter the stage and generally just sound issues. Whilst this didn’t ruin the show at all, I did miss some key lines of dialogue and some of my favourite numbers seemed very quiet indeed.
All in all, I would highly recommend a trip to Sheffield to see Top Hat if you’re fan of old school musical theatre or even just a fan of a good time. Just make sure you busy out your top hat, white tie and tails!