Velvet seats and bright lights, the electrifying energy of a live performance, and an opportunity to wear my vintage fur while not feeling overdressed thanks to the woman in a floor length cape to my right and the man in a top hat two rows ahead, it was of course a night out at the theatre!

Playing at the Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre, Cabaret provided my sisters, mother and I all the joys that theatre can offer. A brilliant musical devoid of any glossy veneer, Gale Edward’s interpretation of the acclaimed musical, depicts the decadence of pre-Nazi Berlin’s sordid nightlife.

As the threat of Nazi Germany looms, the musical navigates the impact these changing tides will have on the Kit Kat Club patrons and performers. Ultimately the club artistes choose to stay in their beloved Berlin with hope of continuing in their debauched, steamy show girl (and boy) splendour.

From the leads to the supporting, the Melbourne cast committed to the uninhibited earthiness this production demands. Paul Capsis as Emcee, brought the coarse animal energy required of the role, and Chelsea Gibb as Sally Bowles was the winning combination of raw fragility and dogged persistence. Her delivery of the song ‘Cabaret’ oozed the guttural grit expected of Sally Bowles cast by the shadow of the legendary Liza Minelli.

The set and costumes perpetuate the shadowy stylings of a seedy underground Berlin with a gothic glam appeal bringing the bohemian hedonism of the era to life.

The Melbourne production of Cabaret combines a strong cast and divinely decadent set and costuming to deliver a fantastic night at the theatre.