Top Hat at the Bristol Hippodrome Review
Top Hat
Bristol Hippodrome
18-29 November 2014
Reviewed by Siobhan Bridgwater
Now that was a trip to the fabulous Bristol Hippodrome that I will not forget for a very long time.
Top Hat is the simply brilliant, awarding winning musical comedy show recreating the film of the same name, famously starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Big shoes to fill and no easy feat to follow those legends of the screen but this hugely talented cast brought the film spectacularly to life tonight with truly incredible performances by Alan Burkitt playing the American dancer, Jerry Travers, who comes to London to star in a show where he meets and swoons all over the beautifully elegant Miss Dale Tremont played exquisitely by Charlotte Gooch.
The show starts with the luxurious golden curtains drawn and all the audience can see is the back of the conductor’s head, in the orchestra pit, as he sways and waves his baton around to create the most wonderful melody of hits from the show, played to perfection. The songs written by Irving Berlin include Top Hat, White Tie and Tails, Puttin’ on the Ritz, Let’s Face the Music and Dance and Isn’t it a Lovely Day to be Caught in the Rain. They are stunningly produced and spectacularly performed. I enjoyed every single note.
Once the curtains open, and before a tap is stepped or a note hit, you are stuck by the incredible Art Deco sets and the truly exquisite period costumes, jewellery, hair and make-up perfectly capturing the fashions of the day. And before you know it, you are transported back to 1935 and a time when romance was in full bloom.
Super comedy performances are provided by Clive Hayward, as Horace Hardwick, and the wonderful John Conroy as Hardwick’s grumpy valet, Bates. Sebastien Torkia also managed to steal a sizeable portion of the limelight from the show’s stars with his hilarious portrayal of Alberto Beddini, a fashion designer and rival for Dale’s affections, as does the stunning Rebecca Thornhill with her superb performance as Hardwick’s long-suffering wife Madge.
The tap dancing and singing throughout the show really is something else. Beautiful executed movements fill the stage for over 2 and a half hours that you really can’t tear your eyes away from. And the scene which first introduces the audience to Miss Tremont, who is disturbed by her noisy neighbour overhead whilst trying to sleep, is a standout arrangement: very cleverly staged and executed.
This was a breath-taking evening of seductive thirties glamour at its most stylist and entertaining. The one after another beautifully crafted stage sets provide a stunning backdrop for an evening of dance and music which is both completely hypnotic and fabulously evocative of a bygone era.
As incredible as it may seems, this super slick show kicks off with unbelievable style and somehow manages to go from strength to strength throughout until it, all too soon, reaches the dizzy heights of its wonderful finale. Faultless and breath-taking, it is guaranteed to melt the hardest of hearts and plant a big, soppy grin on your face by the end.
A wonderful, gorgeous and funny evening which will have you laughing out loud and tapping your toes throughout. I loved the attention to every single, little detail and was transfixed to notice that I even saw the odd ostrich feathers flutter up during the beautiful performed “Cheek to Cheek”. Fab-u-lous, darhling!
If I could give it 6 stars, I would.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £25.40 to £58.40 (plus £4 transaction fee).
Top Hat is at the Bristol Hippodrome until 29 November 2014. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 871 3012.
Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol, BS1 4UZ | 0844 871 3012
