So first things first — I didn’t get to see Billy Porter. Just my luck to spend a shocking amount on tickets, and it happens to be for his day off.
Now that we’re past that — there is much to like about this production, and in particular, I feel as though having seen Marisha Wallace’s stunning turn as Sally Bowles, I have witness a moment in theatre history.
The production positions itself as immersive, with the renovated Playhouse theatre repositioned as the Kit Kat Club. Audience members enter via the old stage door, into the depths of a basement club where they’re given stickers for their phones (like one does at any good German club…. ) and offered shots of Schnapps as you wander up a dimly lit hallway and find yourself immersed in the club. There are a company of Prelude performers throughout the building, there as you explore the various bars and the renovation of the building to look less like a traditional West End theatre and more like an in-the-round cabaret theatre. The mood is exceptional; it is playful and fun, and really creates a delightful atmosphere.
The first act begins, and what stands out is the willingness of the production to not sanitise the story — to allow this late-Weimar Republic club filled with gender and sexually fluid humans seeking escape, to be its grimy and delightful self. There is a sinister mood, with the Emcee looming, lurking over every moment. When we finally meet Marisha Wallace’s Sally, we’re struck by the pain she is clearly hiding barely below the surface. It is clear she is running, and as the plot progresses she is only running faster, yet going nowhere…stuck in the hedonism and everything that comes with it.
Unfortunately, this incredible setup and the equisite performances are let down by the very artifice that set them up; we break for intermission, and it is just like any other west-end play. The ambience of the bars is gone, the feeling of truly being at the Kit Kat Club dissipated. Throughout the setup and first act I found myself wondering how the production would deal with the end of the play (don’t worry, no actual spoilers in case you somehow haven’t seen it). As we broke for the interval, and then returned for act 2, I hoped that the end would somehow reinvigorate this immersion. Sadly, it did not — in fact, the choices around the final number were almost underwhelming, lacking the bite that it could have had, particularly in light of the rise of fascism in the US.
This all sounds like I was disappointed — I was not, but only for the quality of the performances from the cast, and in particular, Marisha Wallace’s outstanding performance. Her performance of Cabaret could (and should?!) have stopped the show; the agony her character is feeling was chilling, breathtaking.
I just really wanted a production which is lauded for its innovation amongst West End productions to see it through. I’m not asking for it to have anything truly innovative (indeed, Immersive theatre was new and innovative 13+ years ago…..if not longer) but to really stick with the intention would have achieved it. Alas, it was just another well produced and well performed play, stopping short of achieving something really and truly memorable and different.