Last night Asa and I went along to the opening night of Cake The Marie Antoinette PLAYlist, which is showing at Norwich Playhouse until Saturday 29th April.
A Parisian dance gig in one act.
Cake: The Marie Antoinette PLAYlist combines a multi-genre pop score with 18th century France to retell a story that sparked a revolution. When Marie Antoinette married King Louis, her reputation was already tarnished by gossip. But when she is implicated in a crime to defraud the crown jewellers of a diamond necklace, it is not just her reputation at stake, but the monarchy and France itself.
This brand new musical, come gig, come ballet is from some of the most exciting figures in modern British Theatre. Including Olivier Winner’s Drew McOnie (In the Heights & Jesus Christ Superstar) and Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (Emilia – The Globe)
Cake was originally commissioned by Paul Taylor-Mills (Heathers & In the Heights) and promises to re-define our expectations of what a musical can be.
Cake The Marie Antoinette PLAYlist Cast
This amazing show is performed by just six performers and they were AMAZING!
Zizi Strallen was fabulous as Marie Antoinette, the bathroom scene was hilarious, she had the right amount of arrogance as the queen, yet you also saw her vulnerable side as the woman who was quite lonely and really didn’t like the person she was.
I am a huge fan of Renee Lamb from Six and Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World and she was fantastic as Jeanne, you saw the transformation of a woman who felt wronged by the royalty, from her father losing his title, to her plan of bringing down the Queen, yet on her journey changing some of her opinions and realising not everything is as simple as it first seems. She owned the stage and told the tale in a way that everyone could relate to. And the powerhouse voice raised the roof!
Travis Ross as Cardinal was superb, when you are first introduced to him you think what a fabulous dancer and singer, then he becomes this totally to brilliant Cardinal character that was hilarious, and so entertaining.
B Terry as Nicole was mesmerising, in fact I could have sat and watched them all day, the moves and the energy was unreal, a total powerhouse, the dance moves they pulled off were out of this world.
And not forgetting Ope Sowande and Megan Bryony Gibbs, who completed this stupendous six! Both sang and danced their hearts out, and 70 minutes definitely went far too quickly!
What Did We Think of Cake: The Marie Antoinette PLAYlist
OMG! What a show….
When Cake was first announced and it was likened to another amazing group of SIX performers, I was excited to see it.
I remember sitting in the Playhouse and knew that Six was going to be a big hit, and I have to say that sitting there last night, I REALLY hope Cake goes the same way, it was absolutely brilliant and I can’t wait to take the girls to see the show on Saturday, I know they are going to feel exactly the same way.
It was a non-stop 70 minutes of pure class, those six individuals gelled together to bring us, pop, rap, R n B, Ballet, comedy, raw emotion, and made a moment in history come to life in a brand new modern format, and we LOVED it!
The staging was simple yet So effective, I loved the mini stages/ microphone holders, and the DIY revolving stage was fabulous! You were transported from toilet blocks to a Queens bathroom, to a secret rendezvous, a courtroom and the start of the revolution!
If you are looking for a great nights entertainment, and you live in the area, get your tickets booked NOW, you will not be disappointed, but be quick as its only there for a few nights and there’s not many tickets left. You do not want to miss out on this new Musical that I pray will be back out touring to audiences across the country.
Tickets are from £16.50 and the recommended age is 14+ due to the colourful language (which totally fits with the show and feels right).
The show has no interval and lasts for 1 hr 10 minutes, which you will want to go on and on and not stop!