CABARET recently celebrated 1,500 performances at the Kit Kat Club (aka the Playhouse Theatre), making it the longest running production of Cabaret in West End history.
The classic Kander and Ebb musical first came to the stage on Broadway in 1966, before transferring to London in 1968 (starring Judi Dench as Sally Bowles).
Now, real life couple Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney reunite on the West End stage, having first met whilst originating the lead roles in Hadestown at the National Theatre many years ago. Eva plays Sally Bowles (a role she recently played on Broadway) and Reeve as the Emcee.
What is the musical Cabaret about?
Set in 1920’s Berlin, in a time with the Nazi’s were starting to take over, respite was taken in the Kit Kat Club – a sleazy hedonistic bar where people could be whoever they wanted to be, do whatever they wanted and explore their deepest darkest desires.
Clifford Bradshaw arrives from America with plans to write a book. He rents a room from Fräulein Schneider in a shady boarding house and soon meets cabaret singer Sally Bowles. But when a situation arises, Clifford needs to find a way to make money and turns to Ernst Ludwig (a smuggler) for some quick cash.
Meanwhile, fruit shop owner Herr Schultz falls in love with Fräulein Schneider but the political connotations of Nazi Germany make their relationship difficult to navigate.
The new cast of Cabaret the Musical
At the age of eighteen, Eva Noblezada was cast in the West End revival of Miss Saigon and was responsible for floods of tears with her heartbreaking performance of Kim. Her portrayal of Sally Bowles is (unsurprisingly) perfection. The character’s journey builds throughout the show until ultimately climaxing in desperation – and that is exactly the kind of character she is perfect at playing.
Reeve Carney as the creepy Emcee was also very good. Having only seen him in Hadestown, I wasn’t sure ho he would navigate the role but he was great, as was Baker Mukasa as Clifford Bradshaw.
Ruthie Henshall is exceptional as Fraulein Schneider and Robert Hands as Herr Schultz. Their story is heartbreaking and I had to have several glasses of schnapps after the show to stop myself from sobbing.
The Playhouse Theatre in London has been transformed into the Kit Kat Club, where patrons enter through the back door, making their way through gloomy backstage tunnels where performers at the club are getting ready to go on stage.
Cabaret is a beautiful musical with some of the most iconic songs from history like ‘Willkommen’, ‘Mein Herr’, ‘Maybe This Time’, ‘Money’ and of course the title number.
There have been some wonderful actors cast in this production over the past few years, from Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley to the likes of Callum Scott Howells and Madeline Brewer, Luke Treadaway and Cara Delevingne to Jake Shears, Layton Williams, Rob Madge and Marisha Wallace.
However, there is something very special about this new cast of Cabaret and if you haven’t seen this production, or if you are thinking about going to see it again, now is the time. It’s perfect.
★★★★★
West End Wilma
Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada’s final performance will be Saturday 24 January 2026.
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