Cabaret

This look into pre-war hedonistic Berlin of the 1930’s, as imagined through the actions of the performers and patrons of the Kit Kat Klub, was an absolute hit for the players of North Ormesby Minstrels. The venue had been adapted by the society to fit the requirements of the production, and thus the action took place in two specific playing areas which resulted in the audience revolving their viewing position at regular intervals.  Far from this being a distraction, it felt like a privilege to be able to have a ‘fly on the wall’ take on the action. That action was, because of the staging, continuous and slick, with the two playing areas ‘linked’ by a raised walkway well-utilised by the scantily dressed performers of the ‘Klub’ and principals alike.

Those principals performed excellently throughout, each with their own personalities and accents, as we saw the lives of singer, Sally Bowles, and writer, Clifford Bradshaw (Helen Brooks and Garry Dring respectively) played out from friendship to lovers with sympathetic acting and fine singing. Boarding-house owner, Frau Schneider, and her friend, Jewish fruit shop owner, Herr Schultz (Jill Stephenson and Keith Lewis) were superb as we saw their relationship grow whilst being ‘warned off’ by part-time prostitute/lodger Frau Kost (Karen Coates).

Martin Maenami, as Ernst Ludwig, Nazi party member, was increasingly sinister as the production progressed. Light relief was afforded by George Maenami and Tom Allen in the song ‘Two Ladies’. Arguably though, the star of the show was Alice Maenami as the iconic ‘EmCee’ who put every emotion into her singing, acting and movement, thus giving a memorable performance up to and including the very last scene, as the audience knew in advance of the terrors and horrors that were just around the corner for the world in the 1940’s as foretold in the haunting song “Tomorrow Belongs to Me”

This was a production typified by fine singing, excellent acting, and an emotional story line, and, whilst the principals may receive the plaudits, this was an ensemble piece by chorus, band, backstage workers and set designers that will live long in the memories of all that were privileged to get tickets for this sell-out production.

Well Done!!!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.