Everything you need to know about Cabaret in London

Cabaret has maintained its iconic status since it arrived on the stage sixty years ago. The current revival in London, playing at the transformed Playhouse Theatre, is no exception. Poignant, timely and moving, this is one West End show that you should see at least once. Here’s what you need to know.

Currently playing at The Playhouse Theatre in London is iconic musical Cabaret which this year celebrates two anniversaries. The West End production, which transformed it’s London venue into an immersive nightclub and dubbed it ‘The Kit Kat Club,’ celebrates five years and over 1,900 performances.

It’s also been 60 years since the musical that brought the world hits like ‘Maybe This Time,’ ‘Willkommen’ and, of course, ‘Cabaret’ first premiered on Broadway.

Whether you’ve watched the film a hundred times or have never seen it in any capacity, this is what you need to know about this award-winning production.

View live availability for Cabaret tickets here

Key dates and venue

Theatre: Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, WC2N 5DE
Booking: Now booking into 2027
Tickets: See availability for Cabaret

What is Cabaret about?

Set in Berlin in 1931, the story of Cabaret follows American writer Cliff Bradshaw, who arrives in a city where the Nazi party is becoming an increasingly threatening presence. He rents a room in a boarding house run by the warm, pragmatic Fräulein Schneider and meets – and subsequently falls in love with – Sally Bowles, an English singer at the Kit Kat Klub. But Sally lives entirely in the present and eschews anything that requires planning or commitment.

Meanwhile Fräulein Schneider seems to be rather taken with one of her lodgers, a Jewish fruit seller named Herr Schultz.

The glittering world of Cabaret is seductive and dark, and the music constantly blurs the lines between the club’s stage and the world outside its walls. Ultimately, it’s a show about our choices and what they can cost us, especially when that choice is to look away.

Alan Cumming as the Emcee in Cabaret at Studio 54. Photo by Joan Marcus — Alan Cumming as the Emcee in *Cabaret* at Studio 54. Photo by Joan Marcus

The history of Cabaret

This remarkable work of theatre had an interesting history before it made it to the stage. It started it’s life as the semi-autobiographical Berlin Stories published in 1945 by Christopher Isherwood. The stories were inspired by his own time living in Weimar-era Berlin. Then, based on those stories, John Van Druten was inspired to write the 1951 play, I Am a Camera.

That material was then adapted into a stage musical with a book by Joe Masteroff and score by John Kander and Fred Ebb. It’s been revived many times over the decades, with several standout productions both on Broadway and in the West End.

The 1966 production, directed by Harold Prince, won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Broadway legend Joel Grey starred as the Emcee.
In 1993, Sam Mendes directed a revival at the Donmar Warehouse, starring Alan Cumming as the Emcee.
The 1998 Broadway revival, inspired by Mendes’s version five years earlier, won four Tony Awards. Cumming returned as the Emcee, followed by several notable replacements including Neil Patrick Harris and John Stamos.
A 2014 revival saw a star line up for the role of Sally Bowles, with Michelle Williams, Emma Stone and Sienna Miller each stepping in. Cumming starred as the Emcee.

Of all the productions, it is perhaps the 1993 version directed by Sam Mendes that has turned Cabaret into the show it is today. Prior to his creative interpretation, the show was staged in a much more traditional manner.

It was Mendes who restaged the whole show as if it was happening inside the Kit Kat Club. He also made a major change to the end of the play, which we won’t spoil for you here, but suffice it to say, the simple act of removing a coat was never the same. It’s an ending that has become the standard.

A rotating cast of stars

Since Cabaret opened in the West End in 2021, it has seen a rotation of stars taking the stage as Sally Bowles and the Emcee. The original cast starred Jessie Buckley and Eddie Redmayne, and since then, stage and screen stars alike have taken a turn.

Some highlights include:

John McCrea (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) and Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education)
Mason Alexander Park (Oh, Mary!) and Maude Apatow (Euphoria)
Luke Treadaway (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) and Cara Delevingne (Only Murders in the Building)
Layton Williams (Titanique) and Rhea Norwood (Heartstopper)
Billy Porter (Kinky Boots) and Marisha Wallace (Dreamgirls)
Rob Madge (My Son’s a Queer) and Hannah Dodd (Bridgerton)
Reeve Carney (Hadestown) and Eva Noblezada (Hadestown)

Currently starring as the Emcee until 19 September is West End darling Jamie Muscato, who has made waves in the theatre world with his recent turns in The Great Gatsby: A New Musical and Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

Joining him in the production as Sally Bowles is Joy Woods, who wowed the world with her takes on Louise in Gypsy opposite Audra McDonald and as Allie in The Notebook.

Up next, Hollywood stars Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect) and Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) are slated to step into the production.

Billy Porter (The Emcee) and the company of Cabaret. Photo by Marc Brenner — Billy Porter (The Emcee) and the company of *Cabaret*. Photo by Marc Brenner

The creative team

Book: Joe Masteroff (She Loves Me)
Music and Lyrics: John Kander and Fred Ebb (Chicago)
Direction: Rebecca Frecknall (Summer and Smoke, A Streetcar Named Desire)
Set and Costume design: Tom Scutt (Into the Woods)
Choreography: Julia Cheng (Fiddler on the Roof)

The current production in the West End is directed by Olivier Award winner Rebecca Frecknall, known for reinventing classic texts including an acclaimed revival of Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre.

Designer Tom Scott has followed up his work on Cabaret with several high-profile West End productions including Into the Woods, Fiddler on the Roof and King Charles III. His work has earned him numerous Olivier Award nominations, as well as several wins.

The duo behind the music and lyrics are composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb, whose oeuvre includes numerous musicals like Chicago (1975), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1992), Fosse (1999) and The Scottsboro Boys (2010).

Screen history

There has only been one major screen adaptation of Cabaret in its history and it’s so iconic that it’s earned its own rightful place in the cultural zeitgeist. Bob Fosse’s 1972 film adaptation starred Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles and Joel Grey as the Emcee was a critical and commercial triumph and has continued to shape how people view the musical.

The film made some key changes, like cutting some songs and adding others, and even shifted several songs so that happened in the Kit Kat Club rather than in the real world. The visual style of the film has also become synonymous with the musical.

The film won a whopping 8 Academy Awards including Best Director (Bob Fosse) and Best Actress (Liza Minnelli). Joel Grey also won for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the Emcee. He won a Tony for portraying the same role in the stage production.

Why Cabaret matters

Life looks a little different than it did when Cabaret first premiered, but the musical is just as relevant as ever. At the time the musical was written, it was one of the first mainstream musicals to deal openly with queerness, antisemitism and the rise of fascism at a time when those topics were largely avoided.

The setting of the musical itself was radical for its time: Berlin in the 1930s was a hub of artistic and sexual experimentation where cabaret culture, queer nightlife and avant-garde art flourished. At the same time, economic desperation and a backlash against the social liberalism that followed the First World War let to a rise in the Nazi Party and a dismantling and criminalisation of freedoms.

1930s Berlin felt familiar in the 1960s and more so in 2026. It’s a musical that challenges the line between escapism and complicity. Out of sight, out of mind is never as easy as we think.

The show still feels just as urgent now as it did when it first premiered, without a word of needing to change, because of its ability to take on the context of the moment it’s being staged in.

Cabaret - Cara Delevingne as Sally Bowles on knees facing the stage smoking a cigarette — Cara Delevingne (Sally Bowles) in *Cabaret*. Photo by Marc Brenner

What to expect on the night

From the moment you arrive at the Playhouse Theatre, you are part of the show. This isn’t your typical ‘sit-and-watch’ kind of musical. The venue has been transformed into the Kit Kat Klub itself with pre-show performers and dining and drinks you can book. It’s an essential part of the experience before the ‘curtain’ even rises.

At 2 hours and 40 minutes, Cabaret is an incredibly moving show with some heavy subject matter. There are references to political violence and antisemitism and the show is deliberately provocative, not just in the musical numbers, but in the costumes, choreography and staging. The recommended age is 13 and up, as there is adult content not appropriate for younger audiences.

That said, it’s a genuinely funny musical with catchy songs. It never lectures, despite the darker themes, instead seducing the audience in the same way the club seduces its characters. When the tone suddenly shifts, it lands all the harder for it.

Is Cabaret worth seeing?

YES. Everyone should see Cabaret at least once in their life. It’s a moving, powerful and challenging show that audiences continue to respond to. The West End production especially has been praised by audiences and critic alike. The Standard called it ‘a stunning, breathlessly exciting theatrical happening,’ while The Telegraph called it a ‘thrilling and thorough interpretation.’

If you prefer a more traditional theatre experience, this might not be for you, but Cabaret is well worth the effort of trying something a little different. It might even move you to tears.

Book tickets to Cabaret here

Plan your visit to Cabaret

Theatre: Kit Kat Club (The Playhouse Theatre), Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5DE
Booking dates: Booking through 30 January 2027
Performance schedule: Monday to Saturday evenings; Wednesday and Saturday matinee
Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes (including interval)
Age guidance: 13+
Getting there: Embankment, Charing Cross and London Charing Cross are the closest tube and rail stations.
Access: Summary of access performances with dates if confirmed
Tickets: Book tickets here