Cabaret - Playhouse Theatre

Try Taboo, Beast, Wild Rose, War and Peace, The Woman in White, all far far better than that dull and interminable colonial drama. 

Well I love those pieces of theatre. Yes I saw her in War and Peace along with her then boyfriend James Norton. Still dreadful acting from her and awful mannerisms. Caught some of Wild Rose when my kids were watching it….same

I think she has relocated to the States now. She did a show over there and seems like she stayed on. She has trained as counsellor/therapist but is still recording I think. Her brother was on The Great Bristish Menu in last week or so. He owns a restruarant near Lichfield where her family is from/lives.

Can she sing?

Yes, she stayed in the US after Sunset Boulevard on Broadway in 2017.

She did a podcast with the music producer Steve Anderson last year (who produced her 2020 album) and she is an interesting woman, very much shaped by her experience with breast cancer a few years ago.

Jessie was Runner Up in I'd Do Anything I recall and then she went back to studay and whilst I saw her in a couple of shows and concerts (Best of West End type shows that play concert halls) she seemed to move into more acting roles and has done very well for hesrself and to get an Oscar nod is a huge achievement.

Nicola Coughlan I didn't realise she was 35, I had read she was over 30 but thought she was only 31/32. I've never heard her sing but the role of Sally isn't all about the voice so if she can hold a tune she has the acting ability to be amazing as Sally. Also to see a more curvy girl play the role would be interesting.

I think Billie Piper might have made an interesting Sally. It's a shame a production wasn't mounted with her 10+ years ago. I think whoever they get to replace Redmayne and Buckley has to be a known name with the acting chops to deliver a new and interesting interpretation.

We’ve been this afternoon. It’s an extraordinary piece of theatre. Eddie Redmayne is magnetic…we didn’t see Jessie. Emily Bishop was on…but she was utterly stunning! The whole cast are to be fair. Yes, the tickets are expensive, but this production will stay with me for ages. And you can certainly see where your money has gone.

I love the idea of Emily Bishop as Sally Bowles!

The original error made me laugh. I’m now thinking of Roy Cropper as emcee

I saw yesterday’s matinee with a friend (with immense thanks to geraldine64 for offering their tickets on here before returning them to ATG!) and we both loved it. The real triumph is of course the reconfiguration of the theatre - it’s an amazing venue and in some places it’s almost unrecognisable from the Playhouse as it was before. The designers have also done a fantastic job of making the sight lines good - I couldn’t see the upper circle but I think every seat in the stalls and dress circles would have a near-perfect view of the stage.

The show itself is excellent, particularly the club numbers which work so well with the intimacy of this space. I felt that sometimes the book scenes felt a little low energy and would have liked some more of the style from the club numbers to be infused into those scenes too. Redmayne is captivating, particularly in the way he moves, and does a great job of centring the show without stealing it. Jessie Buckley was out but her understudy Emily Benjamin was sensational - she has a cracking voice and I believe she gave just as good a performance as we would’ve seen from Buckley.

The rest of the principles are theatre veterans and give excellent performances all round, with one exception. For me, Omari Douglas wasn’t right for the role of Cliff (although he did better in Act 2 than Act 1). I was particularly disappointed that in the first half of Act 1 his diction was quite poor.

The small band (8 I think?) sound fantastic and the Prologue cast really add to the pre-show atmosphere. The ensemble cast also have some fun during the extended entr’acte. Personally I don’t think it’s worth paying £250 to sit in the front of the stalls or dress circle, but if you can get tickets for £100 or less then you’ll definitely be getting more than your money’s worth even if you’re sat in the rear stalls or dress circle. I can’t vouch for the upper circle as I didn’t see it.

I can’t wait to see who is taking over from Buckley and Redmayne, and as I was leaving the theatre yesterday I couldn’t help but think that this version of Sally would be perfect for Billie Piper… fingers crossed!