Cabaret

The promised snow arrived in London today.

Cyclops and I were doing a working day today, but I started mine with a swim at a local pool and then a wander round the area where I used to work as it was nearby. I came back looking like a snowman.

Later we went to see Cabaret. The thing about Cabaret is that it is a dark dark story and in some ways the stage version is even darker than the film. Which I like. Set in 1930s Berlin, it explores the unexpected relationship between Sally (a nightclub singer) and Cliff (a writer) as the Nazi influence starts to overwhelm the city. Sally is an optimist in the sense that she hopes she's going to make it big and she hopes that the next guy she meets is going to be the one that sticks. But she's complicated, fickle and laden with emotional baggage so she never seems to get what she hopes for. In the film, Cliff (well, Brian in the film) is a bit of an innocent who Sally draws in to a lifestyle on the margins of society, but in the stage show he is much more of a complicit partner. But either way, Cliff is a traveller passing through Sally's life. When things get tough with the relationship, and when his ideological opposition to the Nazis gets too much, he can leave. And he does. But Sally is stuck in Berlin in a destructive cycle that she hopes will turn into something amazing. It doesn't turn out well for anyone. Basically it is doom through and through, and it is the doom that gives it its edge.

And it is the desperation in Liza Minelli's interpretation of Sally that made the film in 1972. Michelle Ryan showed no desperation. Or even any plucky optimism, or sexiness, either of which I guess could be another interpretation of the character. It was a bland emotionless performance lacking in any depth, and she came across a bit like a public school girl on a school trip. This made the big number at the end (Cabaret) very disappointing. No hopes, no dreams, no completely deluded and misjudged optimism. Just a very mediocre karaoke version of the song. I've seen a non-English speaking 'female impersonator' in Malta do a better job (true story).

I wasn't hugely keen on the romance between the old couple in the boarding house either. It was nice, and then painful (in a good way), but it slowed things down a bit.

But don't think I didn't like Cabaret, because I did. And the reason was the bright shiny star that is Will Young as the EmCee. I thought he was outstanding in every way, I could not fault his performance. He was funny and mischievous and sinister and creepy. He looked great, he danced well, and his singing was bang on. It's a tough role and very exposing but he easily pulled it off, making even the hardest bits seem effortless. The song at the end of first act - Tomorrow belongs to me - was a particular highlight. It includes singing with and without accompaniment and shifting the tone from pure to evil over the course of a couple of minutes. He brought tremendous presence to the role. I think it might be the most impressive performance I have ever seen in a musical, I will certainly go out of my way to see him in other things in the future.

And the end was chilling. Which does finish things off nicely and make up for the nonsense that was Michelle Ryan's last song.

We finished the night in the weirdest pub, where everyone was utterly hammered. That part wasn't so weird although it added to the atmosphere.