WHEN I think of cabaret, I think of a narrative being told with sexiness, dancing and energetic singing.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case with the show at Downstairs at His Maj’s, last night.
First of all, the performance of Are We There Yet was a husband and wife team, which already made me a little squeamish when I noticed they were adoringly staring at one another as they sang their solos.
Secondly, there was no dancing, period.
And thirdly, there was limited sex appeal, unless you count the woman’s floor length gown that showed a little bit of cleavage.
The cabaret also failed when it came to telling a story.
The performance was supposed to be about the couple’s travels, and all the trials and tribulations that happened whilst they were globe-trotting.
At least, that’s what the blurb enticing people to buy tickets led you to believe.
“Have you ever been strip searched at Heathrow or hung by your fingernails from a suspension bridge in Nepal?” it read.
But we didn’t hear about these adventures throughout the performance, and instead the most risqué event the couple seemed to come across was hearing people having sex in the room adjacent to their’s in a Paris hostel.
Don’t get me wrong, the pair did have good singing voices, although the songs didn’t seem all that relevant.
They would chat about an amusing adventure, such as coming close to being drowned by hippos in Africa, and then break into a sad duet that went on for a tad too long.
But the pianist was a great musician, and when he broke into song at the end of the night, his bassy tones really emphasised the music.
However, the most entertaining parts of the show were definitely when the couple talked about their travel mix-ups, rather than when they sang a rendition of Eurythmics Sweet Dreams.
The venue is fantastic though, and you can really feel the cabaret vibe with the small round tables, dark lighting and intimate atmosphere.
It was just a pity about the entertainment.