Cabaret...

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome, im Kabaret, au cabaret, to cabaret!

Last Thursday Stu and I went to see Cabaret at the Savoy Theatre in London's glitzy West End.

Starring Will Young as the Emcee and Michelle Ryan as Sally Bowles it was the essentially the same Rufus Norris directed production we saw back in 2006 at the Lyric Theatre starring Anna Maxwell Martin as Sally and James Dreyfus as the Emcee.

Kander and Ebb's remarkable musical turns the pre-war Berlin of 1931 into a dark and sexually charged haven of decadence, its extraordinary and morally ambiguous inhabitants determined to keep up appearances as the real world - the world outside the comfortable sanctuary of the cabaret - prepares for the nightmarish chaos of war.

Sadly there was a slight mismatch between the acting skills and the singing skills of its stars. Will Young could do the latter but not the former. With Michelle Ryan it was vice versa.

The musical numbers were excellent however and the dancing troupe are up to high Bob Fosse standard and conveyed the throbbing sexuality of the Kit Kat Club to a tee.

And as with the 2006 production there was a fair bit of nudity. It wasn't gratuitous in any way though. It was all in the best possible taste. And in fact used quite poignantly at the end.

The Sunshine Boys...

Last night Stu and I went to see The Sunshine Boys playing at the Savoy Theatre in London's glitzy West End.

The revival of the Neil Simon comedy starred Danny DeVito (in his West End debut) and Richard Griffiths as the hapless vaudeville duo "Lewis and Clark".

The story is set after the pair have split up having worked together on stage for 43 years, grown to hate each other and not spoken for their final year together.  It is now 11 years later and they are being asked to revive one of the old routines one last time for a television special. Neither really wants to do it and they bicker and argue before they eventually reluctantly agree do it. They then have a war-like rehearsal before they finally get to perform.

It's a funny show - very well written with some brilliantly created smaller roles such as the two diametrically opposite looking nurses. The show however hangs on the performances of it's two leads. And in this it is mild disappointing.  DeVito is nothing less than superb. He is funny, engaging and convincing. Griffiths is sadly less so. His New York accent is all over the place, his timing not one of a seasoned comic actor and he comes across as being all too pensive for the quick wit he is meant to be portraying. Basically I think he's been miscast.

Still, it's a good show and despite us feeling a little drained from recent bad news we both laughed - a lot - especially in the final act.