Cabaret

The inspired set embodies the darkness of Berlin nightclubs of the time, with illumination coming from gaudy spotlights which reveal much bare flesh, cross-dressers and transvestites. Stockings and suspenders are de rigueur – and that is just the men!

Sexual acts of all flavours are depicted – tastefully and dimly lit, which adds to the seedy, seamy atmosphere of this musical.

An early indication that you are in for titillation comes in the first scene when it’s not just the women depicting flappers of the era – as a naked man runs onto the stage surprising and shocking many in the audience.

The dancing is innovative and steamy, cleverly using beds and ladders in a way that seems so natural and in context.

Sally Bowles, the corrupted innocent from England, is ably played by Samantha Barks in her first major role after coming in the top three in the TV series ‘I’ll do Anything’. When she sings Maybe This Time, you can see why she is chosen for the part. Her rendition is melancholic and touching and interpreted in a way that makes you listen to every word.

Competing for top honours is Wayne Sleep as cross-dressing Emcee who looks divine in tights and suspenders. He is the whole package, dancing, singing, joking and bantering with the audience. Whenever he is on stage he commands attention. It seems he is made for this role.

However, it is not just all sex and joy. There are many dark moments, as the Nazis gain power. The carefree, anything-goes era, that was Berlin in the 1930s, slowly dissolves as Hitler’s presence is felt.

Violence creeps in leading us to the final shocking scene where we see naked huddled bodies, darkly lit in a red haze, where the only sound in the silence is  the hiss of gas amplifying the horror of the Nazi’s final solution.

The party is well and truly over.