A scene from Hotel Black Cat at the Wonderground, London. Picture: Jason Moon
Hotel Black Cat, presented by the Black Cat Cabaret, continues at the Wonderground, London until 26 August.
Rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
The Black Cat Cabaret is practically an institution in the capital, combining the talents of some of the finest performers in a regular salon at the Cafe Royal.
Its now regular summer gig in the London Wonderground ran into difficulties last year with a more than usually obscure narrative and a lack of variation in the acts. Thankfully, this year’s offering sees the team back on track with a sublime blend of performers inviting us to check into the Hotel Black Cat.
Cabaret compere supreme Dusty Limits takes on the role of manager at the hotel, which is in dire need of funds, thanks to an array of madcap staff and some less than salubrious clientele. Of course it’s just a framework on which to hang a show, but it’s not without merit and director Laura Corcoran manages to weave several narrative threads, including a non-conformist love story, into a highly entertaining show.
Limits’ skill is not only to develop a knowing bond with his audience, he is also an accomplished vocalist, topping and tailing the show with the lively ‘Welcome to the Jungle’. A singer/songwriter in his own right, it is in fact his cover of ‘Hotel California’ that emerges as one of the highlights, doing for the Eagles classic what the 2001 movie Moulin Rouge did for Sting’s ‘Roxanne’.
Amid hi-jinks from the acid-Degas ballet troupe Cabaret Rouge, and deft juggling from Florian Brooks, there is some excellent clowning from Dimitri Hatton. Using a step ladder as stilts, Hatton has nurtured a lively routine , with a physical punchline that literally brings the house down.
One of the most visually impressive acts is Vicky Butterfly who combines stunning costume design, LED lighting and burlesque. As Butterfly slips out of her sequinned cloak, she reveals wings of constantly twisting light, reflected magnificently in the mirrors of the Spiegeltent.
The resident, string-heavy orchestra, aptly named Bowjangles, is a huge plus and it’s good to see the quartet taking centrestage for their own, equally physical comedy routine.
Behind these entertaining set pieces hand-to-hand acrobatic duet Nathan and Isis check in to perform some spectacular moves in the guise of wealthy investors. It’s already heady stuff but when housekeeper-cum aerialist Katharine Arnold gets involved, it becomes a ménage-a-trois of sensuous choreography, precision moves and nerve-jangling acrobatics.
While not the most moral of endings – this is the Black Cat after all – it is a joyous conclusion, decidedly up-beat, epitomising the hedonistic atmosphere of this most decadent and dedicated of cabarets troupes.
Paul Vale
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