Cabaret All Stars featuring Kerry Ellis – Proud Embankment

Pictures: Ian Bowkett

Cabaret All Stars featuring Kerry Ellis at Proud Embankment, London (Friday nights).

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Remember the before times? Remember all those cheap balcony seats you settled for so you could afford to visit the theatre weekly rather than monthly? In autumn of 2020, evenings out have become a very rare and special event. Beyond there simply being fewer shows, there are actual, big and scary public health reasons to limit nights out.

So, the few outings you do allow yourself should be special, and they should be safe. Proud Embankment’s Cabaret All Stars ticks both of these boxes with an ornate quill of glamorous decadence. The show features some of the very best cabaret, music and circus stars from all around the world.

Before we go any further, it feels important to point out that the venue is – technically – under a bridge. In any other British city, one would usually politely decline invitations to party under a bridge. After all, that is where you would find the worst of urban crime and/or trolls. In real estate-strapped London however, it is quite natural to find a world class cabaret venue, beautifully decorated to evoke the decadence of the great Jazz Age.

The audience are temperature-checked and given a full run-down of the rules as they are ushered in and seated in discreet bubbles. Although the venue does feel very full and is buzzing with atmosphere, diners are seated a safe distance apart.

That’s right: diners. A three-course meal is included with the ticket. I am by no means a connoisseur of food (as mentioned above, my disposable income is strictly reserved for theatre tickets), but even I can tell that the offerings from head chef Anthony Vacca are a cut above. The menu has a great selection of dishes, including gluten-free and vegan options.

Proud Embankment advertise themselves as London’s “sexiest West End super club”, and on this occasion they definitely lean into that boast. The majority of the acts are burlesque in nature, with a delightful smattering of circus, drag and singers thrown in. The line-up changes every show but given the calibre of these acts, you will no doubt be in safe hands.

Presumably, it has been a good half-year since most of the audience have attended a cabaret, and we probably would have gone home satisfied if the acts simply did a twirl in their fabulous, glittery outfits. However, these are some of the finest cabaret stars the world has to offer, and each seem inspired by their incredible peers to put on the most astonishing show possible.

Due to the current shutdown of entertainment venues, producer Alex Proud has his pick of the cream of cabaret talent. J’adore La Vie are a high-fashion and hilarious drag duo who were previously a highlight of Paris’ infamous Moulin Rouge. Here they engage in delightfully silly skits with impressive and slapstick choreography.

Delightfully silly: J’adore La Vie

Aerialist Katherine Karpovich – formally of Cirque du Soleil – treats us to two dizzying routines that more than live up to that brand’s reputation for astounding displays of circus skills.

Burlesque artist Marie Devilreux also takes to the rafters to show off her own impressive aerial skills, as well as indulging in some terrifying flame-play with fire-eater Shade Flamewater – because flinging herself around 20 feet above the stage apparently just isn’t dangerous enough. Special mention should also go to the show’s director Jessicats, who performs two brilliant stripteases that show off creativity and wonderful sense of humour. She is an absolutely electric performer.

Given all this talent, would it be a bit too much to also have one of the West End’s most beloved stars belting the biggest songs in her arsenal right at our faces? No, of course not. That is never a bad thing. Headliner Kerry Ellis’ voice is on top form and she supplements the evening’s drag and burlesque performances with thundering renditions of anthemic songs like ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ and ‘This Is Me’ from The Greatest Showman. As a host she is glamorous, charming and does a brilliant job of keeping the show moving.

Tickets for Cabaret All Stars at Proud Embankment start at a fairly steep £60, but considering this includes a cocktail, a three-course meal and a brilliantly curated selection of jaw-dropping performers this outlay feels entirely reasonable. It is the perfect way to spend a very very rare evening out.

Ian Bowkett