Cabaret (with Will Young!), Bristol Hippodrome, 17th September 2013

I liked Will Young when he was on Pop Idol and admit to being a bit gutted when it became obvious he was gay (although not quite as upset as I was about John Barrowman). The initial London run of Cabaret in which Will Young took on the role of Emcee of the Kit Kat club had been on my radar but we hadn't made it. So I was happy to find out that Will Young had enjoyed performing in the show so much that he had suggested a national tour. As it wasn't coming to Birmingham we decided on a trip down to Bristol.

Will is very much the star of the show, and you really do get the feel he is having a great time. Siobhan Dillon (didn't recognise her at the time but after a bit of googling found out she had come third in the BBC show "How do you solve a problem like Maria") as cabaret singer Sally Bowles was also very good. But it was a really pleasant surprise to find all of the cast were very strong. Too often on national tours you end up feeling there are 1-2 weak links, but that's certainly not the case here.

I'd never seen Cabaret before and although I wasn't expecting a story based in Berlin in the 1930s to be cheerful, the second half was really quite dark and ultimately very poignant. The standing ovation at the end was well deserved and I'd definitely recommend it. I'm considering trying to get to see it again when it comes to Wolverhampton.