Review: The Red Windmill Spectacular – Cabaret Supper Club

Last Thursday we were lucky enough to find ourselves sat in the luxurious surroundings of the Cabaret Supper Club to see the opening night of their newest show – The Red Windmill Spectacular.

Before the show even started in earnest the characters of the play were meandering around the tables,interacting with the customers and chatting away in full costume and with some ludicrous accents.  The play itself is set in a club very like the one we were actually sat in, the famous ‘Le Chat Noir‘ in gay Paris.  As the play moves from being set backstage, to on the stage, to in and around the club floor, so do the actors throughout, giving it a very immersive and slightly ‘meta’ quality.  This sort of theatre dining experience is perfect for the venue.

The story itself concerns star-crossed lovers, a crime being committed in the club and a wrongly accused man – all classic themes.  The production is helmed by locals – from the writing and directing to all the actors we see, as well as the burlesque acts and fire (yes fire) breathers that make up the impressive ‘on stage’ elements.

Being opening night there had to be a few hiccups and we found the first quarter to be a bit rocky, but once the actors found their flow the action started making a lot more sense and everything slipped into a much better flow. In fact when the wedding party upstairs got a bit too loud the actors were able to ad-lib and incorporate it into the act in a hilarious way that had us all laughing some of the biggest laughs of the evening.

The action was split across 10 scenes and every scene had a few minutes in between which established a nice pace and allowed for people to wander about, mingle, smoke and go to the loo etc without interrupting the show.  I find little things like this can make all the difference and also helps to break this style of immersive theatre away from the traditional 2/3 act structure.  The show is billed as a kind of ode to ‘Moulin Rouge’ and features songs from it and other musicals like ‘Les Miserables’ as well as more modern songs, but I can honestly tell you as some-one who has seen neither film that not knowing these references does little to hamper your enjoyment.

This is a great original addition to the Cabaret Supper Club and set perfectly for Dinner Theatre, and I guess being set in France would great with a bottle of Champagne! Oh la la!

The show runs every Thursday night in September and more details and booking details are right here.