Cabaret, The Musical
Why Cabaret?
It’s an opportunity to celebrate some incredible theatre based on or created by queer people.
The musical Cabaret is imbued with a gay sensibility, from the host, the Emcee, to the Cliffs of the Kit Kat Club, to the person who wrote it and the individual on whom the story is based, Christopher Isherwood, the Anglo-American writer.
In April 1933, two weeks after Adolf Hitler introduced the Enabling Act, which firmly established his regime, Isherwood fled Germany with his partner, Heinz Neddermeyer.
Most of Berlin’s seedy cabarets were subsequently closed by the Nazis, and many of Isherwood’s cabaret acquaintances later escaped abroad or were exterminated in concentration camps.
These real events ultimately provided the inspiration for Cabaret.
An outstanding show, bold and mesmerising!
The musical Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club in London, based on stories by Christopher Isherwood. It was the most successful musical on Broadway in 1966 and was no less successful in 1972 (starring Liza Minnelli).
The current production, under the brilliant direction of Rebecca Parknell, has won a record seven (!) Olivier Awards, including Best Musical Revival, Best Direction, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, to name but a few!
The familiar songs are interpreted in a new and different way, we cannot recommend it enough!
Willkommen to London’s Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club! …See what I did there? ;)
The designer of the show, Tom Scutt, has done a fantastic job of bringing new ideas from club culture into the theatre to break down those boundaries.
When you enter the Kit Kat Club, you go down into a sort of basement, there’s live music playing in the background, the staff are handing out Jaegermeister shots and sticking stickers with the club’s logo on the audience’s mobile phone cameras, so we don’t forget we’ve gone back in time. (And to make sure we don’t take any photos, of course).
Before the performance, the dancers will flirt with everyone who enters the club.
Women with drawn-out moustaches, men in corsets, everything that is not new to us in 2023 is celebrated in the Berlin of the early thirties of the twentieth century.
In a subtle form of immersive theatre, the event begins even before you enter the hall and the show has officially started, and continues with the participation of the audience seated at tables beside the stage.
The audience not only watches the musical “Cabaret”, but also acts as an audience watching a cabaret show in the club itself!
Here is the trailer for the show featuring the cast of 2023:
The Story
Set in Berlin in 1929-1930, during the waning days of the Jazz Age and the rise of the Nazis, a bisexual, broke American writer named Clifford Bradshaw arrives in vibrant Berlin in search of inspiration and meets a young German named Ernst Ludwig.
Ernst introduces Clifford to the city and takes him to where the action is, showing him Berlin at its best, the Kit Kat Club.
At the club we meet a young British singer called Sally Bewells, a lost, wild and uninhibited soul. Clifford and Sally fall in love, but will they be able to overcome the noise in the background?
We are also introduced to other talented performers who will continue to accompany us, headed by the cabaret host, Emcee (incarnation of M.C. – Master of Ceremony), a character without a real name who is an extremely talented, satanic, funny and chilling expression of Nazi ideology that is gaining recognition
Another storyline is that of Caroline Schneider, an elderly lodging house owner who rents out rooms and tries to survive her difficult living conditions while showing compassion to her tenants who have difficulty paying the rent, including Clifford and Sally. Caroline Schneider has a Jewish admirer called Herr Schultz.
Mr Schultz is not afraid of the Nazis, he thinks it is a passing storm, while Schneider senses the approaching danger.
Who is The Musical for?
This show is for adults.
Not suitable for children or those more comfortable with chastity (tzniut).
It may be suitable for those less fond of classical musicals.
Less suitable for those looking for a light, feel-good musical. As although there is a kinky fun side to it, it is accompanied by drama.
The musical requires an intermediate level of English.
Recommended seating and tickets for Cabaret in London
The stage is built as an arena with the audience sitting around it.
The chairs closest to the stage are with tables, so it feels more like a club than a show.
If you are comfortable, it is recommended that you sit at the tables closest to the stage.
It is advisable to arrive early as there are events taking place in the theatre which add to the atmosphere of the club.
Tickets are on sale now for performances until December 2023 and can be found on the following trusted websites:
London Theatre Direct – our favourite site
Headout – Discount Code – GOLND
LOVEtheatre also a trusted site!
It is recommended to book well in advance.
Click here to read some of the reviews
You might also like…
For another classic musical, check out Les Miserables / Phantom of the Opera
For a witty and sophisticated musical for children – young and old – try Matilda.
For a good comedy for the whole family check out the one and only, Mrs. Doubtfire!
If you are looking for a light-hearted musical without the need for good English and love Abba’s songs, try Mamma Mia!
A journey for great performers, biographies and hits, try The Musical Jersey Boys / The Tina Turner Musical, A Hit Musical
For a big and very impressive show, try the musical Moulin Rouge.
For teens, try Wicked.
For a musical suitable for children or a musical with simpler English, try The Lion King and Frozen
If you want to see amazing sets and impressive effects, try Back to the Future The Musical
If you are looking for a play rather than a musical, try Witness For the Prosecution and The Mousetrap – both Agatha Christie classics.
For a great comedy, try The Play That Goes Wrong or The Book Of Mormon, which is brilliant!
And of course Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which is in two parts.
For more options and full information, check out London Musicals and Plays 2025
List of gay friendly / LGBTQ+ friendly hotels you can find in the page Gay friendly hotels in London by area.