Cabaret announces new West End cast, led by Jake Shears and Self Esteem

New casting has been announced for Cabaret‘s record-breaking run at the Kit Kat Club in the West End.

The show, first seen in late 2021, is currently booking until next summer at the specially adapted venue next to the Thames.

From Monday 25 September 2023, the roles of the Emcee and Sally Bowles will be played by Jake Shears (lead singer of the Scissor Sisters and lyricist for the hit musical Tammy Faye), alongside Rebecca Lucy Taylor, also known as Self Esteem.

Composer of the music for the multi-award-winning play Prima Facie, Taylor previously gave an exclusive performance at the WhatsOnStage Awards – which you can watch in the clip below. She said today: “I’ve never made a secret of my love of theatre and I honestly couldn’t be more excited about getting to make my stage debut as one of the greatest leads of all time.

“I’ve joked for years that there’s no need for a Self Esteem musical really because Sally’s story covers most of the points and here we are. I am both artistically and emotionally raring to take on this challenge. Pinch me!” The pair are set to appear until Saturday 20 January 2024.

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Shears added: “It is my privilege and honour to play the Emcee in this incredible show. I am especially excited to be sharing the stage with the force that is Self Esteem. This role has been a lifetime dream of mine and I couldn’t imagine a better production of it to be a part of.”

Further casting changes have also been confirmed. Emily Benjamin will continue as the production’s alternate Sally Bowles until 18 October, with Nic Myers taking over (scheduled to perform once a week) from 19 October.

Also joining the company on 25 September are Wilf Scolding as Ernst Ludwig, Jessica Kirton as Fraulein Kost/Fritzie, Liv Alexander as Texas, Natalie Chua as Frenchie, Taite-Elliot Drew as Hans, Damon Gould as Victor, El Haq Lateif as Helga, and Travis Ross as Bobby, joining Laura Delany as Rosie, Grant Neal as Herman/Max and Hicaro Nicolai as Lulu.

The cast is completed by Rebecca Lisewski, Ela Lisondra, Myers, Andy Rees, Toby Turpin and Patrick Wilden.

Cabaret is directed by Rebecca Frecknall, set and costume design is by Tom Scutt with choreography by Julia Cheng. Musical supervision is by Jennifer Whyte and musical direction is by Ben Ferguson with lighting design by Isabella Byrd and sound design by Nick Lidster. The casting director is Stuart Burt and the associate director is Jordan Fein.

From 16 October, the prologue company, entertaining audiences before the show begins, will be Rachel Benson, Ami Benton, Onyemachi Ejimofor, Joseph Hardy, Liz Kamille, Andrew Linnie, Aine McLoughlin, Jack Parry, Jazmyn Raikes, Oliver Stockley and Ena Yamaguchi.

A Broadway production is also being prepared, with dates from next spring. In the meantime, tickets for London are on sale below.