Tag Archives: Vivien Parry

“Cabaret” at the Kit Kat Club

Still a hot – and pricey – ticket since opening last December, Rebecca Frecknall’s production of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical is now on its third set of leading performers. And it has seven Olivier Awards to boast about. There’s a special thrill about seeing a hit – and a sense of success fills the air of the refurbished Playhouse Theatre. This one’s getting better and better.

As for the awards, Frecknall is a deserving recipient for directing such a bold show. But I’m a little surprised choreographer Julia Cheng didn’t get an accolade: her work adds tremendous interest and, with the ensemble at work before the show and during the interval, is a big part of making the evening special. Likewise, the design from Tom Scutt, whose set makes the interior lush while the costumes aid the performers, could easily have picked up a trophy.

It was the performers who gained most of the gongs, so a change of cast could be tricky for the production. But never fear. Taking the roles of Emcee and Sally Bowles are exciting young stars Callum Scott Howells and Madeline Brewer. Sid Sagar brings plenty of intensity to Clifford Bradshaw, while Vivien Parry and Richard Katz play the story’s older romance with sweet and melancholic touches.

Just as important as the famous characters, the whole ensemble have the confidence to support the leads and shine in their own right. There are a lot of eye-catching moves and humour from the Kit Kat Club’s performers. Everyone is given a moment in the spotlight and grabs it, but they work together wonderfully, particularly bringing Cheng’s dance – both gritty and otherworldly – to life.

The show has grown in humour. This was my only reservation from an initial visit. There’s more fun at the start. The number, Two Ladies, is a lot ruder! And there’s a looseness to the performances that works well. Scott Howells seems particularly relaxed and his Emcee is really enjoying himself. It’s not just a question of more fun for all. Less tension at first makes the drama to come more powerful. Cabaret was great to begin with and has now found its feet to becomes something even more special.

www.kitkat.club

Photos by Marc Brenner

“Top Hat” at the Aldwych Theatre

Few people love their jobs like the character Jerry Travers in Top Hat. A Broadway star who can’t stop performing, on stage or off, he is lucky enough to check into the Hotel Excelsior, where the staff start dancing at a moment’s notice and where he meets the love of his life. Fortunately, she likes dancing too. It’s hard not to enjoy this enthusiastic adaptation of the classic film, famous for Irving Berlin’s songs and the performances of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It’s great fun, with a plot so daft it takes us back to the farces the Aldwych Theatre is famous for.

In the lead role Tom Chambers, of Strictly Come Dancing fame, deserves credit for propelling the show and showing off his skills. He’s slightly upstaged by his love interest, played by Summer Strallen: not just because of her gorgeous dresses but also, as a line cribbed from Ginger points out, because she does everything Chambers does “backwards and in heels”. Strallen has the legs for a role like this, has clearly been practising her back bends, and with her sweet voice gives a heavenly performance. Together, Strallen and Chambers make a likeable couple and are convincingly glamorous in Hildegard Bechtler’s stylish set. Their courtship by tap dance is delightful and the big numbers such as ‘Cheek to Cheek’ are real crowd-pleasers.

Director Matthew White makes the most of the gentle comedy on offer from the secondary players. Martin Bell plays a theatre producer and Vivien Parry his wife with a comic panache that’s remarkable given the age and standard of the jokes they have to deliver. Stephen Boswell is superb as their butler Bates and Ricardo Alfonso gives a tremendous performance with actually quite a weak number. A lot of the show’s undoubted success comes from sheer momentum – it’s relentlessly upbeat and determined to entertain, and hardly anyone stops smiling the whole way through. Including the audience.

Until 27 April 2014

Photo by Alaistair Muir

Written 11 May 2012 for The London Magazine