If you haven’t seen Cabaret before, welcome to the Court’s version of the lurid Kit Kat Klub, the theatrical representation of the debauched world of pre-war Berlin.

It’s the cabaret of grubbiness not glitz, with sophistication lost in a desperate salaciousness; a world fuelled by drugs, booze and a destructive desire to live only for oneself, before Hitler’s henchmen obliterate its twisted universe forever.

After Sam Mendes re-interpretation of the musical, it’s hard for a company to play it any other way. Yet, for all Nic Kyle’s valiant attempt, as Emcee, to inject the required ghastly seediness, it all seemed more Rocky Horror Show than depravity in the fast lane.

Cast interactions with the audience that were supposed to make us part of the club had a whiff of self-consciousness that at times stretched believability.

I’m not sure if the audience would agree with me, though, judging by some favourable comments overheard after the show and, indeed, this production, certainly had a lot going for it.

There are some good characterisations, a great opening, some lively numbers and some striking and telling moments when the cast truly bring home the real nature of 1930’s Germany.

Perhaps it was opening night nerves but there were times, especially in the first half, when a certain flatness pervaded the whole production.

Even Outrageous Fortune star Antonia Prebble, for all her glowing presence, sometimes seemed more English tourist in the wrong club, than naïve runaway desperate to burn her boats.

Cabaret is both funny and outrageous, yet it has a point to make. It’s a classic musical and, despite some reservations, the cast, at times, give a strong and entertaining account of its wayward world, reckless humour and political insight. 
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While Cabaret rather famously opens with a drum roll and a cymbal crash, this Court Theatre production of Cabaret starts from the moment you stand in the foyer with double entendres flying from the mouths of Kit Kat Klub characters – they’re shamelessly flirting with you, tattooing you with Kit Kat Klub temporary tattoos, and then showing you to your seats.

Once inside the theatre there is an organised chaos, with the audience cajoled in to singalongs or German drinking songs.And on it goes until the lights go down, and the production begins on stage proper.

Director Sandra Rasmussen, in her director’s note, describes the extreme and confrontational nature of Weimar Berlin. The show, particularly the first half, oozes sex – the talented ensemble cast commit to a tawdry mix of characters who aren’t afraid to sex up the stage with provocative moves, carefully placed tassels, and lines that aren’t just suggestive, they’re down right dirty. Everyone gets a pash, and even our wide eyed tourist Cliff Bradshaw (Cameron Douglas) has a kinky side to him.

I love that the Court has embraced this rampant sexuality, it is so much a part of the world the play inhabits, as much as the dark Nazi shadows lurking in the background of this tale. I’d have liked to see the darkness of this pre-WWII, depression era setting brought out more however; it is a lurking tension that is lacking in the first half, but pervades as the second half goes on.

It is Sally Bowles that is the star of this Cabaret, the exotic British wannabe actress holed up at the Klub – emphasis on the ‘wannabe’. The anticipation in the Christchurch audience is, of course, helped by the added anticipation of seeing Outrageous Fortune star Antonia Prebble in the flesh too.

She immediately endears us with her ill timed entrance, all wide eyes and energy. Her Sally Bowles is frantic, at times a little too much so – heading occasionally into melodrama. I had difficulty empathising with her at times, only really feeling for her in the last scenes of the play, but I guess one could argue I should really have been identifying more with the ‘straight’ man of the show, Cliff Bradshaw (Douglas) anyway.

The title song is not a ‘pretty’ rendition, Prebble almost speaking much of the lyrics then showing us the painful truth of Sally’s character in the climax, almost crumpling onstage after seeing the horrors of impending Nazi occupation.

While my companion thought it was terrible and felt embarrassed for Prebble, I thought it was brutally peeling back all of Sally’s fronts we’d constantly seen throughout the show. And yes, the singing wasn’t amazing – but I don’t think that this British bird in a washed up German Cabaret club was ever a talent to behold anyway, I’m sure Christopher Isherwood would agree (he wrote the semi-autobiographical books the show is based on).

Nic Kyle, as the Emcee, has a fantastic voice and worked his costume to the max. I’d like to see a bit more grunt from him, his falsetto (while gorgeous) veered the Emcee off course in to a more innocent vibe. I’d have loved both Kyle and Prebble to be on wireless microphones, I lost a few lines throughout the show.

The most endearing love story in the show is that of Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz, played with true professional polish by Rima Te Wiata and Steven Ray. Te Wiata, especially, brings true emotion to a woman torn between love and making a living. Ray is heartbreaking as the Jewish Fruiterer Herr Schultz who stays optimistic that Germany will come right again – when we all know the sad truth of what will happen to him. These two performers truly stood out for me on the night, their stage presence and experience worth bucket-loads to this production.

The whole show takes place within the confines of the Kit Kat Klub, with scenes outside the Klub played out on the raised platform in the middle of the stage, under which the musicians are crammed. These scenes have a small number of props, passed, or played by, the ensemble cast – dare I say it’s a tad Brechtian in parts.

That raised stage in the middle is the only major feature in a minimal set by John Parker, a set of red octagonal stool/tables being moved around by the actors to portray all scenery. All kudos to Parker, a recent Arts Laureate, but the set is just a bit too minimal for me. For me, the Kit Kat Klub needs more texture, more faded glitter and grittiness than this setting gives to the production.

In fact, I would say that about the whole show. It just needs something a bit more; some more depth to Sally Bowles and the Kit Kat Klub’s precarious situation at the dawn of the Nazi era, and some more pizzazz to really make the place fizz.

This isn’t a pretty Cabaret. While Elizabeth Whiting’s costumes are beautiful (watch out for Elsie Edgerton-Till’s first outfit), you wouldn’t use words near luxurious to describe this Kit Kat Klub – I don’t think the club had seen any glitter or sequins at all, apart from the many disco balls hanging above the audience.

In fact, the whole piece lacks the polish I expected from this show – something which may come through the season. There is a dynamism missing that will come once the performers truly own this chaotic, sexual world they have created alongside Rasmussen and Musical Director Richard Marrett.

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