Sally Bowles them over at Kit Kat Klub

Cabaret cast, from left, Michael Wallace, Sven-Eric Muller and Matthew Berry, with Claire Taylor as Sally Bowles.

Cabaret cast, from left, Michael Wallace, Sven-Eric Muller and Matthew Berry, with Claire Taylor as Sally Bowles.

Published Mar 26, 2015

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CABARET

Director: Matthew Wild

Cast: Charl-Johan Lingenfelder,Claire Taylor, Daniel Buys, Michele Maxwell, Mike Huff

Musical Director: Kate Borthwick

Choreographer: Louisa Talbot

Venue: Fugard Theatre

Until: May 30

Rating: ****

A multi-layered musical like Cabaret invites as many interpretations as there are directors; some emphasise its risqué sexuality, some the contrast it presents between a frenetic pursuit of fun and an increasingly sinister political climate, and others focus on the work’s darker implications of failed relationships and anti-Semitism. Matthew Wild deftly combines all three approaches in this show, and in so doing brings out its intrinsic complexity.

Not even a major technical hitch on opening night dimmed this production’s lustre, and the cast’s response to the crisis confirmed their professionalism. When the mechanism driving set changes malfunctioned, those on stage went into freeze mode, then began a manual transformation of the set…until it became apparent that would not suffice. To the fore came Charl-Johan Lingenfelder who as the Emcee has a pivotal role throughout the show, and with the aplomb of a seasoned artist invited the audience to go out for refreshments, as if the whole scenario had been planned.

Lingenfelder anchors Cabaret brilliantly, but without upstaging other leads. Claire Taylor, as Sally Bowles, blends glamour with defiance and pathos, singing authoritatively from first to last. Her laboured rendition of Come to the Cabaret as she battles tears is a highlight of the evening.

Daniel Buys is plausible as the indecisive Cliff Bradshaw, and manages to keep that persona sympathetic despite the less-than-heroic qualities that make Bradshaw so human.

The duo of Michele Maxwell and Mike Huff (Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz) form a memorable counterpoint to the leads, bringing warmth, vulnerability and gentle humour to their roles. Ludwig Binge is suitably enigmatic as Ernst Ludwig, a noteworthy secondary character.

Dance is a major component of Cabaret, and Louisa Talbot has honed the ensemble of dancers to a high calibre of performance. The scantily clad troupe musters acrobatic proficiency with infectious enjoyment, their patterns making optimal use of stage space.

Tina Driedijk’s versatile set rings the changes from Bradshaw’s meagre accommodation to the bling of the Kit Kat Klub and even on occasion to the compartment of a moving train. A subtle touch is the pervasive lack of privacy to which protagonists are subjected: intimacy is constantly threatened by the appearance of cast members above the set, culminating in the moment when Herr Schultz’s shop window is smashed by an iron-faced boy sporting a Swastika.

The inclusion of a child to portend the future horrors of Hitler’s Berlin has a calculated shock value, as does the grotesque duet from the Emcee and a female “gorilla” impersonating a Jewess.

As Cabaret draws to an end, there is a bitter taste in the mouth at odds with the show’s cheery music and manic energy – proof that this is more than just light entertainment to beguile an evening. Food for thought as well as eye-candy…

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