Im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to Cabaret

Last night I attended The London Cabaret Awards, an annual event that focuses on the myriad of alternative cabaret acts that make up the core of London’s light entertainment scene. While I do attend a great deal of cabaret in London and indeed covered the London Festival Of Cabaret last year for The Stage and Musical Theatre Review, I wouldn’t say that I was conversant with the alternative scene. This said, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of friends old and new who were present at the Lost Theatre last night and how many of the acts I had already seen and enjoyed.

It was a colourful affair, as you might expect and full of the glamour and grotesquerie that make up the scene liberally sprinkled with the movers and shakers who run venues and book acts. Chief among these is the organiser of the event Paul L Martin who, as well as performing himself, runs the entertainment agency Excess All Areas. I have known Paul for a few years now, notably reviewing him in Ruthless at the Stratford Circus (a gazillion years ago!) where he played the theatrical agent Sylvia St.Croix. Since then our paths have crossed several times on the theatre scene and of course he is responsible for the highly successful Battersea Barge pantomimes. In fact I still credit him with the funniest panto title to date – Snow White & The Seven Signs Of Ageing.

Aside from all this Paul is the MD of Excess All Areas and the company go to great pains to elect a mixed judging panel each year to populate a list of nominees for the awards. The judges this year were promoter and producer Catia Ciarico, producer James Seabright, performer and programmer Jillian George-Lewis, cabaret director Klare Wilkinson and club designer Norman Gosney. The host for the event was the wonderfully subversive Myra Dubois, Rotherham’s least celebrated daughter and the evening featured performances from The Dream Bears featuring the adorable Luke Power, contortionist The Tom Show, The Original Street Dancers and the lovely singer/songwriter Tamar Broadbent.

The awards were presented by, among others Adele Anderson, Samuel Cairnduff and the enchanting Barb Jungr, looking fabulous in a striking new red dress! As to the winners, there were several names I knew in the shortlist and a few of the winners too. For the complete nominations check out the awards website but below is the complete list of winners.

Best Vocal Act – Lady Rizo

Best Musical Variety Act – Adam Kay

Best Drag Act – La Voix

Best Host – Benjamin Louche

Best Burlesque Act – Kitty Bang Bang

Best Speciality Act – The Boy With Tape On His Face

Best Alternative Performer – Duo Bogof

Best Newcomer – Tina T’urner Tea Lady

Best Production – Black Cat Cabaret

Best Circus Act – Jess Love

Best Cabaret Venue – Soho Downstairs

Audience Award – Jayde Adams

Outstanding Achievement AwarJd – Jo King

Unsung Hero Award – Gay Bingo at the Empire

Other familiar faces at the event were journalists Adrian and Liz Arratoon, pianist extraordinaire Michael Roulston cabaret performer David Hoyle and Chris Dennis (the glorious winner LaVoix) plus of course Mark Magill and the team who run The Lost Theatre.

Colour, comedy and even the occasional spot of political satire, the London Cabaret Awards are worth their weight in gold. A hugely entertaining night out that will hopefully continue from strength to strength, truly reflecting the diversity and talent on offer in the capital.