Rating: ★★★★
Venue: Proud Embankment, London
Cast: Sofia Pavlichenko, J'adore La Vie, Jessicats, Lady Lydia, Shade Flamewater, The Seifert Sisters and Lucy Elson
Introducing our all new show, West Side Cabaret Story! Featuring the UK’s most incredible circus and cabaret acts! Classic show tunes mixed with contemporary music and a fabulously entertaining theatrical experience. Our show involves fire, singing, dancing, acrobatics, and of course outrageously sexy performances by our spectacular-cast!
Proud Embankment is one of my favourite venues in London. This was my only my second time visiting, but there's something so special about the location and venue. It's situated right on the River Thames and from the second you show up, you're welcomed like royalty. You walk down a red carpet and are showed to your table. The venue is atmospheric and dimly lit, with music playing as soon as you enter. I purchased a "show only" ticket, but you can also purchase 3 and 5 course meals alongside your show tickets.
The arrival time is 6:30pm, but the show doesn't begin until 7:30pm. There is a warm up act at 7pm, who was absolutely fantastic, so I'd highly recommend getting there as early as possible. The show finished around 10:15pm, so you really get amazing value for the ticket price, which was just £10.
As a huge fan of West Side Story, I was excited to see this modern, sexy take on the show. One thing I'll say, is if you're looking for an exact copy of West Side Story, this probably isn't the show for you. It's very loosely based on West Side Story; instead of the Jets and Sharks as our rival gangs, we have the Butch and the Burlesquers.
The show features some of the most iconic West Side Story music that we know and love, and there are some sensational dance numbers to America and I Feel Pretty. But as far as the comparisons to the traditional West Side Story, that's where they end.
The night is laced with some incredible talent and acts throughout. The show is oozing with sex appeal, and it's probably the most provocative show I've ever seen. One of my favourite acts of the night was the aerial performance from The Seifert Sisters. Not only was the talent outstanding, but she was absolutely gorgeous. Another standout performance was Jessicats on the motorbike. It was seductive, suggestive, full of anticipation and everything you'd want from a burlesque performance.
The act I was most excited to see was Lady Lydia and Shade Flamewater, who were playing Tony and Maria. My only complaint was that we didn't see enough of them; as the leading characters of our show, I did expect to see more. Lady Lydia is one of my favourite performers and the pair's fire act of the night was full of passion, desire and brimming with sexiness.
Our host of the evening was Sofia Pavlichenko, and she deserves a special mention as she was sensational. She's an absolute powerhouse, and her vocal performances of Dirrty by Christina Aguilera and I Put a Spell On You were some of my favourites of the night. She was a captivating host, and really held the audience's attention.
There was a fantastic singer called Lucy Elson, who performed in the breaks within the show. She was out of this world, and performed crowd favourites such as Somebody to Love and Highway to Hell.
While I did adore the show, I really would have liked more songs from the musical itself. However, the songs that were included were very cleverly woven into more modern songs. The music throughout the night was fantastic. A personal favourite was Down in New Orleans from Princess and the Frog being played during a break.
Another aspect of the evening I loved was the themed cocktails. There was a themed cocktail for each performer, which I thought was an innovative idea when the show doesn't have a cast list on display anywhere.
Overall, I loved the show and if you're looking for a fun-filled, sex-fuelled evening, West Side (Cabaret) Story is the show for you. I really liked the interwoven mixture of contemporary music, along with musical numbers; it was very cleverly done. If you're looking for a night out to remember, I'd highly recommend a night out at Proud Cabaret!
You can buy tickets to Proud Cabaret at Proud Embankment, London, here: PROUD CABARET TICKETS
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