I think the biggest compliment I can give to this performance is that not once did I think back to any of the iconic aspects of the film – not Liza M, not Joel Grey, not the Fosse choreography, not the general visual aesthetics in any way. It came across as a complete and superbly coherent re-imagining of the work – and, for the first time, all the elements and characters – Clifford Bradshaw, Sally Bowles, the EmCee, Herr Schultz and Frau Schneider – were in balance and had equal emotional and dramatic importance. Often some (or even one) of these elements/characters dominate at the expense of the others and that in the past has given me a sense that the work is somewhat dramatically unbalanced. But this production showed that that was not so and that the whole work is wonderfully crafted and balanced to give a rich personal and socio-economic picture of German society at that time.
Much was made in the PR of the idea of a total transformation of the theatre into the Kit Kat club which was quite effective - although the foyer with some gyrating dancers above it was impossibly cramped and the prices of a drink or a program (the latter @ £15.00 for largely glossy souvenir-style photo collection was more than usually outrageous) were in keeping with the record-breaking ticket prices. But, sign of the times, the performers’ names in the program were all followed by an indication of their preferred pronouns…The live music played by strolling instrumentalists pre-performance was disappointing though – it was, to my ears, vaguely rambling sort of jazz riffs whereas I would have thought that something much more connected to the actual music of Weimar-era cabaret songs would have been much better to help create a mood of place and time – which, with the transformation of the theatre into the club, was one of the main PR points of this new revival. An opportunity lost, I feel.
And one other, trivial, aspect. The audience was very dully respectable – my friend with whom I went, and I, both dressed up to a degree which we felt was appropriate. And why not have occasional performances where the audience is strongly encouraged to dress on a theme to truly help to re-create a Weimar-era feel – cross-dressing/fetish/black and white; there are great possibilities! But the prices precluded any likelihood of a young and edgy audience, I suppose.
It seemed to me that if a theme or central idea could be attached to this performance then it would be the idea of demented marionettes. From the opening image of Eddie R as the MC in a twisted, distorted pose, and through the choreography to the climactic final number by Sally B ‘Come to the Cabaret’ this very strong sense of twisted bodies, moving uncomfortably and unnaturally was strongly prevalent – perhaps at the mercy of forces they did not understand or could control.
The staging was minimalist which put all the emphasis on the performers The reworking of the theatre into the club space meant that the performance was essentially in the round and the (small) circular acting space had a moveable outer ring (used very effectively in the first staging of Tomorrow Belongs To Me as model figures were placed on this as the song progressed and which, in the final iteration at the end, were replaced by actual figures). A circular drum in the middle, with a smaller one within it, were used, sparingly and very effectively at climactic moments – not least to focus on the pineapple that Herr Schultz presents to Frau Schneider as well as the climax of Act 1 – of which more later.
As suggested earlier the influence of the film (in many ways I feel it has been a malign influence!) was not to be seen anywhere. This was particularly effective in the choreography where the demented marionette idea was always present in the moves of the performers – and the fact that they were not synchronized to the Nth degree a la Fosse was just one way in which this production managed to suggest the true sleaziness of the club which was helped by the marvelously androgynous nature of almost all the dancers and their costumes which had a rather improvised ‘let’s raid the dressing up box’ quality about them.
And so to the two central performances – but remembering that, as I indicated earlier, this was not just a 1 or 2 person show.
Buckley had a hard edge to her with none of the ‘look at cute adorable me’ which a certain other performer ladled onto the role. There was a toughness about her (essential given her life and choices) as well as a remarkable degree of delusion. But her most remarkable moment was at the very end with her performance of the titular song. No triumphant paean here but rather starting with a dead-eyed fury and desperate marionette movements which then grew and exploded towards the end into blind a frightening fury. I realized, for the first time with this song, how connected it surely is - emotionally, musically, dramatically – to Rose’s Song at the end of Gypsy – and while listening to Buckley I thought what a superb Mama Rose she could make.
Eddie R was remarkable. From his first static hunched and twisted appearance centre-stage to his final image (a brilliant stroke which perfectly matched the dramatic and thematic arc of the work – I’ll explain shortly what I mean…) he commanded the stage and was an almost permanent presence at the fringes, watching, observing, a constant sinister figure. His opening Wilkommen he made completely his own – this like many other numbers ‘undersung’ but with terrific dramatic impact much very effectively almost whispered as at the very end of If You Could See Her How I See Her with one of the most devastating final lines in all music theatre.
Tomorrow Belongs…was, on its first appearance, almost understated on its initial appearance but then on its reprise at the climax of Act 1 was stunning – Redmayne rising from below the stage in a black fetish-style outfit with silver coins/chains(?) on and a silver skull-like mask, distortedly gripping some sort of baton as he ‘conducted’ the music. I then understood why there was a costume acknowledgement to Fetish Daddy in the programme. In part 2, he appeared in a blood-red marionettes costume but by the final scene appeared as a suited blond Aryan with floppy hair. A superb idea to make the MC representative of what has happening in the country (and what was going to happen) rather than him remaining a detached outsider as he is invariably shown.
A most fantastic experience.