While the epic Boom Boom Club is on hiatus, their spot at the Café de Paris is taken by new production The Black Cat Cabaret featuring some members of the Club both on and off stage. Last Friday saw the final show for the Black Cat’s opening cast and I was there to see them off.
The fluted columns and crushed velvet of the Café de Paris evoke the days of Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong and Noel Coward, a great venue for the The Black Cat Cabaret. Front man Dusty Limits, in Montmartre mode, does his irrepressible best as “maître des cérémonies” for a slightly naughty but mainly affable lineup of acts. I particularly enjoyed Katherine Arnold‘s slick aerial act and a popping reverse striptease by Laurie Hagen.
The show won’t surprise any cabaret aficionados but the restaurant was full and everyone I spoke to was having a swell time. Whether any of the diners – some paying up to £75 for three courses – noticed the reflected irony of Chrisalys, Pig From Hell, as he downed the contents of a wine bottle in one go and stuffed food into his face is unknown. Overall, this is a plush West End, boozy, supper cabaret and, on that score, it works very well.
This weeks sees the start of The Black Cat’s second run with new faces Sarah-Louise Young, Dickie Beau, Amy Panter and Kalki Hoops.
More information on The Black Cat Cabaret can be found on their official website.
See also:
- Boom Boom Club’s Prospero’s Tavern was one of the highlights of last year’s Priceless London Wonderground. Read our review or see what it was like for yourself.
- Ahead of that production, we spoke to Vicky Butterfly and Dusty Limits.
- The Wam Bam Club takes over the same venue on Saturday nights.
Photo credit: Ken Sparkes, exclusively for This Is Cabaret
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