Chilling production of Cabaret comes to Shropshire

The production at Theatre Severn is a no holds barred version of the musical based on Berlin in 1931 the beginning of Nazi Germany.

From the first few seconds when a high boots and make up wearing John Partridge as Emcee arrives on stage to the final and dreadful last, this version certainly rocks the senses, in every way.

It is not the first time Cabaret has taken to the stage at the Theatre, the last starred Wayne Sleep as the owner of the Kit Kat club.

This new version pulls no punches with brilliant song and dance scenes and some great storytelling from a small cast.

It is the perfect combination of the glitz and glamour of a Bill Kenwright production and the direction of the National Theatre's Rufus Norris.

The lives of the main characters are wonderfully interwoven - American Chris Bradshaw arriving in Berlin and meeting Sally Bowles, a cabaret performer who is completely oblivious to what's happening around her as Berlin falls under the spell of the Nazis in the most horrific way.

Bradshaw's landlady, Fraulein Schneider, played by the enchanting Anita Harris, is courted by the equally delightful Herr Schult. Their relationship was delightful and despairing in equal amounts.

The audience in Shrewsbury was enticed into the glamour and fun of the Kit Kat club only for the gradually dawning of the dark undertones to move into the sharp focus of reality of what was really happening in a brilliant puppet scene.

Cabaret is not for the faint hearted. But if you want to laugh one moment and cry in despair the next and enjoy some wonderful dance routines and emotional singing then this is for you.

And in today's world, maybe we should all be shocked into realisation by the production.