Cabaret

I had no idea what the musical 'Cabaret' was about. When I was offered free tickets to the show featuring Will Young (him from Pop Idol) in Eastbourne, I very happily accepted them and with hindsight, I should have at least read up on it beforehand.

For those who also don't know the story:
It is set in 1931 Berlin at the seedy Kit Kat Klub. At the centre of the story is the English performer Sally Bowles who meets and falls in love with the American writer Cliff Bradshaw. Then there is also the romance between Fräulein Schneider - Sally's and Cliff's landlady - and Herr Schultz, a Jewish fruit vendor and one of her tenants. In the second act, the political changes brought on by the Nazi regimes are becoming clearer and clearer.

It was an amazing show with great and very raunchy dancing and excellent singing. The first part had quite a few comical elements, too and Will was superb as Emcee, the master of ceremonies. Well, all of them really had amazing voices! After the interval it all turned very dark, culminating in the very last scene, which alludes to the concentration camps.

While it is a very good show, I did leave the theatre feeling upset. Some of human behavior seems impossible to comprehend really.