I went to London’s latest immersive cabaret expertise and have one query | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV | EUROtoday

This week, I discovered myself stepping out of London and into Nineties France. Nestled in a tiny backstreet in West Kensington, a stone’s throw away from the Tube station, you’ll discover a constructing that appears completely unassuming from the surface – a small cluster of warehouses, a little bit of astroturf and a row of parked automobiles. But step nearer and also you’ll be transported to a special world completely.

You’ve discovered The Lost Estate – dwelling to Chat Noir, London’s latest immersive cabaret expertise. From the second you undergo the entrance door and right into a dimly lit hallway framed with plush velvet curtains, it’s like going by way of a portal. Far from the hustle and bustle of London streets, you’re heading right into a world the place electrical gentle has solely simply been invented, the place aristocrats rub shoulders with bohemians.

I’m fortunate sufficient to attain an invitation to this expertise. I hand my coat to the cloakroom, and from then on, each step I take brings me deeper into this Parisian world. First, I journey by way of a winding labyrinth of rooms, every of which supplies a little bit of background in regards to the expertise.

The cabaret is led by Rodolphe Salis, the founding father of the Parisian membership who’s trying to safe his legacy as ringleader. It will happen in three elements – Art, Absinthe and Anarchy. And the forged will probably be made up of ‘The Mime’ Paul Legrand; ‘The Muse’, Yvette Guilbert; ‘The Dancer’ Cléo de Mérode; and ‘The Illusionist’ Joseph Buatier.

But all that is earlier than getting into the room correct – and after I do, I’m immediately shocked. Dorothy, you’re not in Kansas any extra – that is Paris. Red velvet couches, flickering lamps on every desk, crystalline glasses, waiters bustling from desk to desk in bow ties and conventional aprons. The ambiance feels electrical.

Each visitor is allotted their very own desk – we’re positioned on one of many larger seats off to the facet, with a terrific view of the central stage the place the musicians will later carry out. The band is made up of violinist Guy Button, cello participant Peteris Sokolovskis, pianist Alex Ullman, percussionist Will Fry and accordion participant Aine McLoughlin, who – reasonably than merely mixing into the background – every play their very own half within the elaborate present.

This is dinner theatre, so earlier than issues kick off we’re handled to the paté maison – an extremely clean brandy and vermouth paté served with pickled cucumber, contemporary baguette, salami slices and cheese.

Drinks are on supply too – the theatre boasts a full cocktail menu, and we sip champagne as we look forward to issues to get underway. There are a number of ticket sorts, with the non-public eating VIP being the most costly at £224.85. That ticket contains “luxury, box-style seating”, a welcome glass of champagne and canapés on arrival, plus the three-course banquet.

The most cost-effective ticket is available in at £129.85, together with the three-course meal and “raised rail seating with an iconic view of the club”. Cabaret eating (“a cabaret table in the heart of the action”) and centre stage (“front row cabaret seating, built into the stage itself”) each are available at £159.85.

Act one – Art – comes with a serving platter of mentioned canapés, and serves as an introduction to every of the acts. The Mime, performed by actor Alexander Luttley, tells a mind-bending story about falling in love with a coat, which manages to make us all snicker and tear up on the similar time. I don’t assume I ever thought I’d be so emotional over an inanimate object, however they wind such a narrative into a brief couple of minutes that I can’t assist it.

The Muse, performed by Issy Wroe Wright, reveals off her unimaginable vocal expertise, whereas The Dancer (Coco Belle) jetés across the room seemingly effortlessly. The Illusionist (Neil Kelso) stuns his captive viewers with a really spectacular sequence of methods, all whereas ringleader Salis (Joe Morrow) corrals his troupe into some semblance of organised chaos.

Individually, the performers are unimaginable. Together – one thing we’ll see extra of in Act Three – they’re a powerhouse.

There’s a brief break in between acts – fortunately lengthy sufficient for a loo break and to eat our principal course, coq au vin. The roast rooster is served with purple wine jus, pomme purée and pancetta, and is the spotlight of the meal, personally.

Act Two comes and we slip into the inexperienced hour. Absinthe drips are delivered to tables across the room and we precariously stability sugar cubes over our glasses whereas watching the liquid flip progressively yellow, permeated with the scent of aniseed.

The solely means I can describe this part is akin to a fever dream. The music slips into one thing low and gradual, the sunshine round us turns inexperienced, and Salis’ hypnotic voice bleeds over the viewers as if conducting every considered one of us as his actors. The solely factor is, I’m not 100% positive I keep in mind a lot of it – time slips into being one thing free and floaty.

Not to fret, although, as a result of Act Three brings the vitality within the room proper up once more. Served with a reasonably common lemon tart and raspberry coulis for dessert, Anarchy is an apt title. It’s complete chaos – France turns into Spain as we’re catapulted by way of a bull struggle, an execution and a striptease one after the opposite. At factors, the viewers is inspired to affix in with chants of “off with his head!”, sing ‘meow’ to the tune of Frere Jacques, and create our personal Spanish salutes. Act Three is my favorite by far.

Chat Noir is greater than a present – it’s an expertise. The tickets, nonetheless, are priced fairly steeply – price it for the standard of the performances, however much less so for the meals, in my view. The rooster is scrumptious and the paté is completely beautiful, however there’s no standout dish that made me assume, ‘Yes, this is what it’s all about’. As the Parisian banquet is marketed as a part of the expertise as a complete, it’s simple to really feel a little bit bit let down by how common the choices are. Don’t go in there anticipating culinary perfection.

But in case you go into Chat Noir desirous to waltz into one other world, with spectacular expertise from all of the central performers and a private contact (The Illusionist even popped by our desk to carry out a person magic trick for us), you’re in for a reasonably costly deal with.

I come away with only one query – how precisely did they handle to move Nineties Paris to the center of the UK?