Review: Cabaret

At Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 4^th November.

Will Young is outstanding as Emcee! He has reprised his role - which earned him an Olivier award nomination for his critically acclaimed performance as the show’s master of ceremonies at London’s Savoy Theatre. Starring alongside Will is newcomer to theatre, Louise Redknapp as Sally Bowles, who did brilliantly in her stage debut.

The show captures the heady atmosphere of the Cabaret lifestyle and the characters that star in or attend the Kit Kat Klub and local residents of Frauline Schneider’s house. Its quirky story follows the hedonistic lifestyles in 1930’s Berlin within the world of glitzy showbiz, dancing, singing, drugs, prostitutes and bisexuality in what was once described by Christopher Isherwood as ‘smokey sexuality’. As the show develops, so does the power of the Nazi Party and we see hints of this throughout until the very haunting end.

An exceptional performance from Will Young, who has been remarkably versatile throughout his career so far with a beautiful singing voice and he added a great touch of ‘weird’ to Emcee who was very funny and endearing. The entire ensemble acted, danced and sang effortlessly with some killer routines and looked as though they were having a smashing time on stage, which always makes a performance more exciting. I didn’t warm too well to Sally Bowles as a character (maybe I’m not supposed to?) and having never seen Cabaret before I feel the story should focus more on Emcee however, Louise Redknapp was a fantastic Sally and with her musical background she smashed it.

As usual at MK theatre the set design, lighting, sound, costumes and atmosphere were perfect – they cleverly switched between just three scenes from the sombre boarding house to the lively Klub and the audience loved it from start to finish. I particularly loved the inclusion of the orchestra raised at the back of the stage, what would a musical be without its musicians!!

The theatre was packed out on a Tuesday night, so get your tickets quick before they sell out!! www.atgtickets.com

La Cage Aux Folles

A classic, OTT musical with something for everyone - a thoroughly enjoyable show about family, friendships, love and being true to who you are.

The story is about Georges and Albin, a flamboyant gay couple running the celebrated nightclub ‘La Cage Aux Folles’ in St Tropez with Albin as the show’s star Za Za. When their son, Jean-Michele, reveals he wishes to marry the girl of his dreams, Anne – the daughter of a right-wing homophobic politician – we then follow this extraordinary family as they hide their identities for a comical meeting with Anne’s parents.

In terms of the stage set, lighting and costumes this was spot on – transporting the audience to a real-life French Cabaret. We got exactly what we’ve come to expect from extravagant drag attire – with feathers, wings, glitter, sequins, high heels and wigs galore. The orchestra were as much a part of the show as well, with Za Za’s cheeky flirting with ‘Sandra’ the conductor.

The leads are played by Adrian Zmed as Georges and John Partridge as Albin, both of whom play their parts fantastically. John channelled his inner diva and entertained us greatly with his performance as both Albin and Za Za, he had the audience involved from the start and cracked some fantastically rude one liners amongst his superb singing. Not to forget the rest of the cast, ‘Les Cagelles’ dazzled us with their dance routines and a shout out to critically acclaimed Marti Webb as Jacqueline, who impressed us as their dear friend and owner of a trendy restaurant. Lastly a stand out performance from Samson Ajewole as Jacob, Albin’s butler/maid who was as camp as can be and funny in every way.

Don’t miss La Cage Aux Folles, on until Saturday 12^th August at Milton Keynes Theatre, visit www.atgtickets.com for tickets.