Cabaret @ Kit Kat Klub Review

It's the most talked about revival of a musical in quite some time (for good and bad reasons) but Cabaret at the Kit Kat Klub (the redesigned and unrecognisable Playhouse Theatre) is now well into what promises to be a long run. 

Very few musicals are iconic in the way Cabaret is. It has a film that truly made a star of Liza Minnelli, and the Sam Mendes production (first seen in the 90s) has been revived multiple times over the years to continuous acclaim. 

So to take on something like this, you have to be ready to do something as distinctive and put your own stamp on it. 

Director Rebecca Frecknall obviously has a very clear vision of how she wanted to interpret the classic, and that'd evident from the moment you enter the theatre. No spoilers but it's worth arriving as early as possible and going for a wander round, as there is so much to take in.

Tom Scutts design gives us visually rich setting of the seedy Berlin nightclub, which is a little at odds with what we know Cabaret to be, but it's so exciting to look at you kind of have no choice but to forgive the overly extravagent nature of it. 

It's a given that you need exceptional performances in a production this anticipated, but thankfully Frecknall has two leads that are well up to the task.

This iteration of Cabaret came from the mind of Eddie Redmayne, who's wanted to professionally play the Emcee for over a decade. In an entirely different version of the Master of Ceremonies than we have seen before, Redmayne's opening image is of a contorted, child-like figure - setting the tone that this show is full of surprises. He sings well, but it's not his voice that shines through: it's the sheer magnitude of his stage presence. It's an immensely physical performance that never ceases to go in unexpected places, unravelling into a truly sinister figure by the end of the show.

As Sally Bowles, Jessie Buckley is the antithesis of the girl we know as played by Minnelli. Buckley is gritty, loud and brash from the off, losing any kind of irresistibility we may have expected. In a way this fights against the rest of the production, as it feels very angry from the off. Her performance is also a little jarring against Omari Douglas as Cliff, who does very much feel like a plot-point in this production, rather than a possible way out for Sally. This is also not helped by the fact that Douglas feels a tad miscast in the role of the plucky American writer who arrives in Berlin on the eve of war.
Buckley does, however, walk away with the entire night with the title number (which is worth the price of admission alone.) Screaming her way through the final chorus at the top of her lungs in a rendition that could easily have blown the roof off, the audience finally sees the penny drop for Sally as she understands the world around her is falling apart.

Liza Sadovy and Elliot Levy are beautifully poignant as the secondary couple, who find themselves caught in a fight for love and survival in the face of overwhelming prejudice, and there's is a scene-stealing turn from West End favourite Anna-Jane Casey as Fräulein Kost AND a Kit-Kat girl (I'd suggest the Tories don't go though as Casey is likely to high kick them in the face.)

It would be remiss of me to talk about this production and not address some of the controversy around it's pricing. 

I went to the first preview and had a good stalls ticket for £75. If I was to try to purchase that seat today, it is now an eye-watering £250. That doesn't include any food or drink or any extras, that's a standard stalls seat. 

Now, I work in theatre. I understand how dynamic pricing works. I get that theatre is a business and that after the last two years theatre needs to make back as much money as possible, AND this production has revamped a whole theatre and that hasn't been cheap. 

My issue is the fact that this is now a production that only rich people can see. The marketing team make a big point of the Lottery (which has six tickets for every show at £25...!) and that tickets are available from £30, but that's literally a handful of tickets, that you need to be able to book 9-12 months in advance. It's just a hugely inaccessible way to work. Trust me, I get that they have A-List stars who need paying, and we are living in uncertain times, but two people wanting to sit in the stalls at Cabaret in February will cost the same a package holiday to Spain for two people - that's unacceptable for a night out. 

Be that as it may, this production is a sensation. It has phenomenal stars (who are with the production till mid March) but it's such a solid production that whoever they put in it next have a great piece to work with (I'd consider the £250 if they can give me Andrew Scott and Billie Piper...)

Frecknall has really worked hard to make a fully immersive experience for the audience and for a lot of people this will be unlike anything they've experienced before - and they won't forget it in a hurry. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

November 2021

Kit-Kat Klub, London