Eddie Redmayne as Emcee from the original cast in 2021. Photo: Marc Brenner
Planning a trip to London’s West End to see the hit musical Cabaret?
Here’s everything you need to know before you book.
Everything you need to know about Cabaret
What is Cabaret about?
Cabaret is set around The Kit Kat Club in Berlin in the twilight of the Jazz Age in Berlin in Weimar Germany where the American writer Cliff Bradshaw meets the English cabaret singer Sally Bowles on New Years Eve, 1929.
Where is Cabaret playing?
Cabaret plays in the Kit Kat Club, a reimagined version of the Playhouse Theatre in London’s West End. You won’t recognise the theatre if you’ve been to it before – it really has been completely transformed.
How long is Cabaret?
Cabaret runs for 2 hours 45 minutes including a 20 minute interval – but don’t take too long away from your seat if you don’t want to miss some of the interval entertainment. There’s also the pre-show ‘prologue’ that takes place throughout the venue ahead of the main show starting. Everyone receives a ‘club entry time’ for the Kit Kat Club on their ticket and it’s recommended to arrive as close to that time as possible to have the richest experience of the show and to be fully immersed in the club – and we agree!
Who stars in Cabaret?
The current West End cast of Cabaret includes Jake Shears as Emcee and Rebecca Lucy Taylor as Sally Bowles alongside Nathan Ives-Moiba, Beverley Klein, Teddy Kempner and Wilf Scolding in the main cast. Michael Ahomka-Lindsay joins the cast from 11 March 2024.
What days does Cabaret play?
During its usual performance schedule, Cabaret has evening shows from Monday to Saturday at 7:30pm with matinees at 2pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays. There are no shows on Sundays. This can change around bank holidays and during the festive period. Quite possibly – there have been many productions of Cabaret both on the West End and Broadway, as well as touring productions and a film adaptation of the musical starring Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles. Classic songs include Willkommen, Maybe This Time and the title song, Cabaret.
How long has Cabaret been playing?
This production of Cabaret opened for previews on 15 November 2021 with Eddie Redmayne as the Emcee and Jessie Buckley as Sally Bowles. It earned seven Olivier Awards including all four best acting categories for Redmayne, Buckley, Liza Sadovy and Elliot Levey.
There have been many notable productions of Cabaret since its original Broadway run which opened in 1966. Its 1968 West End debut featured Judi Dench as Sally Bowles while Sam Mendes’s then-unconventional 1993 revival starred Alan Cumming as a highly sexualised Emcee. A 2014 Broadway revivial, again directed by Sam Mendes and starring Alan Cumming, saw a series of stars portray Sally Bowles with Michelle Williams, Emma Stone and Sienna Miller each taking on the role during the two and a half year run.
What did critics think of Cabaret?
It was critically acclaimed when the Kit Kat Club threw open its doors to the world’s press with a slate of five-star reviews and glowing praise for the acting, the direction, the design, the music… well, everything basically.
Read our review of the original revival cast from 2021, including Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley, where our reviewer proclaimed that ‘it may already have claimed the title of production of the decade.’
