“Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome,” announces the Master of Ceremonies at the start of this year’s school musical, Cabaret, and immediately the audience feels comfortable in the louche setting of the Kit Kat Klub in 1930s Berlin.
The supreme poise and magnetism of the Emcee, played by the astoundingly talented Dan Richardson, capture us from the word go and we relax in the sure knowledge that we are in for a rare treat.
All the performers shine in their own unique way, from the handsome all-American idealist, Clifford Bradshaw, played charmingly by Edward Aves, to the spinster landlady, Fraulein Schneider – the vocally talented Anisha Chana. Never was a pineapple so beautifully serenaded.
That perfect Aryan specimen, Connor Norris, in the role of Ernst Ludwig, transforms effortlessly from charming spiv to menacing Nazi faithful, targeting the amiable Jewish Herr Shultz, played sympathetically by Ralph Skan – love really blossomed between him and his landlady.
Lily Hunt, resplendent in racy red, relishes the role of femme fatale as she tries so convincingly to recollect the name of her latest paramour.
Hannah Webb, magnificent as Sally Bowles, expertly controls the audience’s emotions; she is brazen yet vulnerable, gauche yet assured, flamboyant yet fragile. Her signature song, Life is a Cabaret, is a triumph.
The Kit Kat girls are spectacular in their exuberance, athleticism and grace, their palpable delight evident in their togetherness as a troupe. From saucy nightclub moves, pinky-peach gracefulness, robotic and hypnotic Nazi marching, to the triumphant Money, money, money number, the dancers do not fluff a move.
The threat of evil mounts convincingly throughout, but while the themes are dark and bleak, the performers still make the spirits soar.
It is a familiar show, with a perfect score expertly played by the orchestra, but there are still surprises, such as the dancing gorilla (William Ludlow), the hovering Emcee, the busy monochrome set with rapidly changing lighting effects and the stark swastikas.
What stands out is the complicity, empathy and comradeship between the performers, borne of people spending huge chunks of their life together at school.
Playing to sell-out audiences over three nights this week in Big School, Cabaret is a triumph for director Kim Chandley and her talented band of musicians and performers, make-up and costume artists, set designers, stage hands and the tech team.