Right this way to the Kit Kat Klub

LIFE"S A CABARET: Samantha Peo and Sascha Halbhuber as Sally Bowles and Emcee (centre) in KickstArts production of Cabaret. Picture: Val Adamson

Terri Dunbar-Curran

WITH careful trimming and strategic design alterations, KickstArt’s production of Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret is transforming the Theatre on the Bay into the intimate Kit Kat Klub from tomorrow until October 6.

The creative duo behind the lavish musical are Durban-based director Steven Stead and designer Greg King. “It’s a show we’ve wanted to do for many years,” says King. Pieter Toerien went to see it when they staged it in Durban last year and invited them to take it to Johannesburg and Cape Town as well.

As KickstArt, King and Stead have been entertaining audiences of all ages in Durban for more than 10 years. “From children’s shows to big glossy pantomimes, we’ve covered most of the bases,” says King. And now they’re looking at branching out beyond KwaZulu-Natal – with Cabaret the first step.

King is enthusiastic about all aspects of the musical. “Cabaret is a hugely witty, dark, classy piece that goes beyond just being a book musical. It does more than just tell a story with music.”

It’s also a thought-provoking commentary on a place that has a lot of relevance to present-day SA, KIng says.

It tells the tale of jaded cabaret performer Sally Bowles and her relationship with a young American writer, Cliff Bradshaw. Their romance is set against the backdrop of the rise of Nazi Germany.

“Artistically, it’s a fantastic piece to get your teeth into. It’s a concept musical – open to interpretation. A director and designer can have a field day. It leaves one with heaps of opportunity.”

It has also provided some interesting challenges. The stage for which they designed the production was much larger, and as they moved the show from Durban to Johannesburg, and now to Cape Town, the spaces they have had to work with have grown steadily smaller.

“We’ve had to chop a bit off here and tweak a bit there,” King laughs. “But I’m loving the intimacy here. People are going to feel like they’re in the club.”

The original theatre had a fly tower, so a rigging specialist was called in to install alternative systems for the Theatre on the Bay. Nothing which King isn’t taking in his stride. He’s energised by the process of getting ready for opening night, and although the company has been running for more than a decade, he’s determined to be involved throughout the process.

“It’s my instinct to muck in and build as well.” It’s that need to remain hands-on that has ensured his passion for shows like Cabaret still burns.

“I have loved designing it. I got really excited coming up with a concept for it.”

The duo began by looking for reference material in the cabaret clubs of 1930s Berlin.

Among the first images they found were of the bombed ruins of a theatre, so they decided to set their production in the ruins of The Kit Kat Klub.

A slight twist on other versions, theirs has the cast emerging from the dusty shadows as the club is returned to its former glory. “Once that idea had us, it was lift-off. Every step has been thrilling. This is also the first time we’ve worked with a live band.”

King enthuses about the assembly of “fantastic” actors on board, with the Durban cast members bringing such heart, and the Johannesburg team a vibrant energy.

Many audiences will be familiar with the musical because of the 1972 film with Liza Minnelli and Michael York, but King says a lot of the story differs in the stage version, so people shouldn’t miss out. “This musical is one of a kind. It’s classy, funny, sexy, and it has huge heart and beautifully well-rounded characters. The whole show packs a punch.”

While not specifically planned as a bonsai musical, the trimmed staging now fits quite neatly into the format. The idea was spawned with Paul Warwick Griffin’s staging of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre and the Theatre on the Bay – taking large-scale musicals and paring them down to fit on a small stage, while maintaining their grandeur.

“It made creating musical theatre a little more do-able,” says King. “It is condensed, stripped down to its essentials. It makes for really dynamic theatre. And while we didn’t set out to create a bonsai musical, the way Cabaret is presented leant itself to the format.”

The musical features Samantha Peo as Sally Bowles, Kate Normington as Fraulein Kost, and German musical theatre performer Sascha Halbhuber making his SA debut as the sinister Emcee. Musical director Stefan Lombard conducts a seven-piece, on-stage band.

l Cabaret will be staged Tuesdays to Fridays at 8pm, on Saturdays at 4pm and 8pm and on Sundays at 2pm and 6pm. Tickets are R100 to R325. Call Computicket at 0861 915 8000, or 021 438 3300.