CABARET
Liberate the imagination from the shackles of tradition.

English for Theatre Study is an MA level course which combines history, theory and practice to examine a particular genre of theatre, with English as the medium of instruction.

This course was convened to explore ‘Cabaret’, the term used to describe an entertainment held in a nightclub or restaurant, where the audience are seated at small tables and are eating or drinking while watching the performance. It has been an important artform in the development of both counter-culture and popular entertainment.

In this course we explored the history of European Cabaret from the late 19th Century to the present.

We then formed our own mini-Cabaret, the tri-lingual (English-Chinese-Japanese) “Cabaret 啦です” (Cabaret La Desu) in which we explored the contemporary relevance of historical models. For one night only we took over 沐木咖啡Dual Mu Café and showcased acts: satirical, poetic, provocative, and to think through how the holding form of the Cabaret allows for an interaction with audiences in a way generally unacceptable in theatre.

Now that Cabaret is part of the performance tradition, has its relevance evaporated?

Objectives:
• To understand the history and importance of Cabaret from the late 19th Century to post-World War II.
• To consider the possible relevance of Cabaret to contemporary theatre.
• To develop and devise solo and collaborative Cabaret performance.
• To manage and produce a night of Cabaret.

Our key text for the study of the history, was Cabaret by William Grange (Methuen, 2022).