Jake Shears and Rebecca Lucy Taylor AKA Self Esteem Join London Cast of Cabaret Starting September 25

The Olivier-winning West End revival of Cabaret welcomes several new cast members September 25 to the Kit Kat Club.

Music icons Jake Shears (The Scissor Sisters, Tales of the City) and Rebecca Lucy Taylor AKA Self Esteem (Compliments Please, Prioritise Pleasure) step into the leading roles of The Emcee and Sally Bowles, respectively, joining Nathan Ives-Moiba as Clifford Bradshaw, Beverley Klein as Fraulein Schneider, and Teddy Kempner as Herr Schultz.

Emily Benjamin continues as the production’s alternate Sally Bowles until October 18, with Nic Myers taking over (scheduled to perform once a week) the following day.

READ: Olivier-Winning London Cabaret Revival is Officially Broadway Bound

Also joining the company September 25 are Wilf Scolding as Ernst Ludwig, Jessica Kirton as Fraulein Kost/Fritzie, Liv Alexander as Texas, Natalie Chua as Frenchie, Taite-Elliot Drew as Hans, Damon Gould as Victor, El Haq Latief as Helga, and Travis Ross as Bobby, joining Laura Delany as Rosie, Grant Neal as Herman/Max, and Hicaro Nicolai as Lulu. The cast is completed by Rebecca Lisewski, Ela Lisondra, Nic Myers, Andy Rees, Toby Turpin, and Patrick Wilden.

The Prologue company features Rachel Benson, Ami Benton, Onyemachi Ejimofor, Joseph Hardy, Liz Kamille, Andrew Linnie, Aine McLoughlin, Jack William Parry, Jazmyn Raikes, Oliver Stockley, and Ena Yamaguchi.

Shears said in an earlier statement, “It is my privilege and honor to play the Emcee in this incredible show. I am especially excited to be sharing the stage with the force that is Self Esteem. This role has been a lifetime dream of mine, and I couldn’t imagine a better production of it to be a part of.”

Taylor added, “I’ve never made a secret of my love of theatre, and I honestly couldn’t be more excited about getting to make my stage debut as one of the greatest leads of all time. I’ve joked for years that there’s no need for a Self Esteem musical really because Sally’s story covers most of the points and here we are. I am both artistically and emotionally raring to take on this challenge. Pinch me!”

This production of Cabaret opened in December 2021, subsequently winning a record-breaking seven Olivier Awards.

Based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood, Cabaret has music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Joe Masteroff.

This production is directed by Rebecca Frecknall with set and costume design by Tom Scutt, choreography by Julia Cheng, musical supervision by Jennifer Whyte, musical direction by Ben Ferguson, lighting design by Isabella Byrd, and sound design by Nick Lidster. The casting director is Stuart Burt, and the associate director is Jordan Fein.

Cabaret is produced by Ambassador Theatre Group Productions and Underbelly.