Top Hat to Dance into London this Festive Season
Published on 13 August 2025
Last updated on 15 August 2025
This Christmas, Top Hat is bringing Hollywood glamour to London. Following its acclaimed run at Chichester Festival Theatre, where critics hailed it as “cheeky and charming,” the Irving Berlin musical will play a limited season at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, from 12 December 2025 to 17 January 2026.
Adapted for the stage by Matthew White and Howard Jacques and directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, the production features some of Berlin’s most iconic songs, including “Cheek to Cheek,” “Let’s Face the Music and Dance,” “Top Hat White Tie and Tails,” and “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” The story follows Broadway star Jerry Travers, who arrives in London to open a new show and falls for model Dale Tremont, sparking a whirlwind of mistaken identities and romantic entanglements.
Reprising their Chichester roles are Phillip Attmore as Jerry, Clive Carter as Horace, Sally Ann Triplett as Madge, James Clyde as Bates, and Alex Gibson-Giorgio as Beddini. Making her London debut as Dale is Amara Okereke, joining a cast rounded out by 20 talented performers including Lindsay Atherton, Rhiannon Bacchus, Jeremy Batt, Freddie Clements, Pedro Donoso, Bethan Downing, Autumn Draper, Tilly Ducker, Laura Hills, Maddie Harper, Connor Hughes, James Hume, George Lyons, David McIntosh, Jordan Oliver, Emily Ann Potter, Joe Press, Molly Rees Howe, Kirsty Sparks, and Toyan Thomas-Browne.
The creative team is led by Kathleen Marshall, with set design by Peter McKintosh, costumes by Yvonne Milnes and Peter McKintosh, musical supervision by Gareth Valentine, musical direction by Stephen Ridley, orchestrations and arrangements by Chris Walker, lighting design by Tim Mitchell, sound design by Paul Groothuis, casting by Natalie Gallacher, associate directors Carol Lee Meadows and Cameron Wenn, associate set designer Ben Davies, associate lighting designer Imogen Clarke, associate sound designer Rich Pomeroy, and resident director and choreographer Richard Pitt.
Perfect for a festive night out, Top Hat promises dazzling dance, classic tunes, and all the elegance of Old Hollywood—just in time for the holidays.
By Hay Brunsdon
I've 15 years of writing and editorial experience, and starting working in the West End theatre industry in 2012. When not watching or writing about theatre I'm usually swimming, hiking, running, or training for triathlons in the Stroud valleys.