What makes the best cabaret show? The Electric Cabaret Company guide.

What makes the best cabaret show? Audiences know when they have had a good time it’s that feel-good buzz that they leave the venue with and the big smile that lasts for hours afterwards.

At Electric Cabaret Company based in Brighton and London, we research every element. After all, it is in our interest to keep our finger on the pulse and constantly update and improve our shows. We have to fly high in the ever-changing cabaret industry for both corporate event entertainment and private party entertainment. Our creative ideas plunder anything from popular culture, modern trends and the very best entertainment tricks and thrills from years gone by. Remember some classic acts just never grow old!

What makes the best cabaret show?

1. Cabaret Hosts with the most.

One of the most important elements of what makes the best cabaret show is the host. A host who also sings is a bonus but not essential. A non-singing host can always form a nice little double act with chat and engagement between the singers in the troupe. If the host does sing it is very important that they can really carry a song to the maximum. A host who is only a passable singer will flatten the night and a singer who cannot really host, but is trying to cover both roles, can make for a very awkward viewing experience.

A host’s role is to tie the whole night together and engage with the audience. They guide the audience through the night with comedy and interaction. A great host can leave the stage, sing to customers as they walk around tables and engage audience members with fun and games. They need to have control, to keep everything on track, running on time and raise excitement levels as they introduce each act. They need to have a strong impact to start the show then warm up the room gradually, but never be intimidating. It’s never a good idea to terrify the audience! What makes the best cabaret show is knowing just how much to push the audience to make them part of the whole experience.

What makes the best cabaret show?

2. A suitable venue.

Venues don’t have to look like the Moulin Rouge to fit the bill for the best cabaret show. A touch of draping and good lighting can transform a venue and of course, the most important thing about what makes the best cabaret show is what happens on the stage itself.

A raised stage area (whether permanent or hired in as risers) is always a bonus especially for dance or burlesque acts that may use choreography which utilises the floor. It’s never a good look if audience members at the back have to crane their necks to see those exciting lower dance moves.

The stage also creates an important division between the world of the performers and the domain of the audience. If audience members are asked to come up on stage to take part in acts or comedy routines it makes them feel very special indeed.

If your venue doesn’t have a good line of site with pillars or a bar smack bang in the middle of the room you have a problem. A cabaret show is like a relaxed theatre show. It may be more informal but there is a reason why theatres discount certain tickets for seats with a restricted view. If we come across a venue with a challenging layout we tend to create a bespoke show that has a lot of walk-about performance with singers and hosts who can move about tables with the use of radio mics rather than lead mics. At Electric Cabaret Company we always embrace a challenge!

What makes the best cabaret show?

3. Sparkling Cabaret Acts

A host and suitable venue are a great start to what makes the best cabaret show but what about the cabaret acts themselves?

If you have an unlimited budget you are extremely lucky and you can, of course, go wild with your line up. If you are on a limited budget it is best to book performers with multiple skills who can perform at least two acts each. You can also bring some emerging artists on board for earlier time slots who can perform at a slightly reduced rate and champion the fact that you are highlighting new performance. Never ask acts to perform for free for ‘exposure’ only and no fee. This is very frowned upon.

If your event is a true variety show you can book a selection of performance that is anything from Cirque, to magic, to showgirl routines but plan your running order carefully with the highest impact acts at the end of your first half and for your finale.

Some acts require props to be put on stage and taken off at the end of the act. It’s best to make sure this is as seamless as possible with the host distracting from the stagehand’s activity with some audience interaction or a song.

Cabaret is a celebration of variety so make sure you have something for everyone. If your event is a solely Burlesque event it’s very tedious to have the same style of Burlesque repeated by different performers over and over. Your audience will start to flag and attention will wane. Different styles will keep interest high and the audience just never know what’s coming next.

What makes the best cabaret show?

4. Creative themes to inspire your audience.

Cabaret audiences often love a themed show. It gives them the opportunity to dress up in your chosen theme and really get involved. This is a key element of what makes the best cabaret show.

When choosing a theme it is a good idea to be original. Has ‘The Greatest Showman’ been done to death in your area? If so give it a very wide berth. Look at what is happening in the world of popular TV, film and fashion and seek inspiration from what everyone is talking and blogging about right now.

A vintage theme is, of course, synonymous with good cabaret and with so many eras to choose from there is a wealth of inspiration. Be careful to be true to your chosen era and not stretch the imagination by trying to cobble a couple of different decades together. A show that transports an audience back in time created with a lot of thought and research can create a truly magical evening.

So this concludes our guide to some of the main pointers regarding what makes the best cabaret show. We have done all the hard work for you so if you need to wow your guests with a show to remember, you are in good hands with Electric Cabaret Company. See our selection of ready-made shows here and contact us for a chat about making your cabaret entertainment the most stunning and truly glittering of events.