Life

It's a sad story about a woman longing for love

* continued from Page 33

"Cabaret is here to remind us that art will always instruct in astonishing and illuminating, though sometimes absolutely terrifying, ways".

Many are familiar with Cabaret through the 1972 musical film directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. There are, however, a number of significant differences between the film and stage versions. In the film the character of Cliff Bradshaw was renamed Brian Roberts, made British and is openly bisexual. Liza Minnelli played an American, Sally, whereas in the stage version she is English. The film also omits a sub-plot involving the doomed romance between German boarding house owner Fräulein Schneider and her elderly suitor Herr Schultz, a Jewish fruit vendor. Belfast-born actress Kerri Quinn plays the lead role of Sally Bowles, and although having been part of a two-piece cabaret group for a number of years, the role was one she never envisaged playing. "I've loved the music from it but I never actually saw the film until after I was cast," she admits.

Did she look to Minnelli's portrayal for inspiration? "The stage show is a lot darker and explores more about the relationships between Sally and Cliff and also Herr and Fraulein. Liza Minnelli's perforamnce was beautiful but on the stage Sally needs to be a lot more eccentric and wacky. She is very street wise and intelligent in her ability to manipulate men and situations to make them work to her advantage, but she is also very vulnerable. It's quite a challenge. It's the most challenging role I've played."

So would she like to have lived in 1930s Berlin? "Absolutely - anything goes," Quinn laughs. "No, it was hard times, which a lot of people don't realise. It's so dark and sad. The first half is so upbeat, with big number after big number and then come the reality of the second act."

Starring alongside Kerri are Matthew Forsythe as Cliff, Patrick JO'Reilly as the infamous Emcee, Karl O'Neill as Herr Shultz, Katie Tumelty as Fraule Schneider, Donncha O'Dea as Ernst Ludwig and Scarlet Wilderink fulfilling the roles of Fraulein Kost and a Kit Kat Girl.

* Cabaret runs at the MAC from September 16 to October 4. Themaclive.com.