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Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club - Guest Review by Dr Terror
I have seen several productions of Cabaret and this is the best by some distance. Matt Willis as the Emcee and Katie Hall as Sally Bowles absolutely sparkle, but it's a real collective effort with everyone firing on all cylinders. Ruthie Henshall and Robert Hands as Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz respectively are again standouts.
What is different with this production is its utterly immersive nature: things have changed since the days when this was still the Playhouse Theatre. It's now a complete club with seductive dancing starting long before the show and three active bars on three levels, a tempting cocktail menu and really talented musicians keeping the party going.
This is both the pinnacle of luxury and an opportunity for self-examination. Just HOW strong are the parallels between pre-war Germany and today's Britain? You decide, but Dan Snow pulls no punches in the programme stressing how similar the two are. The play certainly lays bare the sheer populism of that era's Nazi rhetoric..
The songs are familiar and executed with tremendous panache but Tomorrow Belongs to Me and If You Could See Her Through My Eyes hit so hard that applause almost seems the incorrect response. Nice gorilla, though - the best I've ever seen in stage.
As for the seat prices, yes, they're steep but on a par with the other West End big hitters, but a kind of 'shrinkflation' based on diminishing starpower is also going on: this version opened with Jessie Buckley (who has just won a best actress Oscar for Hamnet) and Eddie Redmayne in the cast and you can't help thinking that Matt and Katie aren't quite in the same league - though both are terrific. They are only in for a few more weeks before they are replaced by two actors I haven't heard of.
I'm sure they'll be marvellous, though.