Interview: Actor Teddy Kempner on joining cast of CABARET AT THE KIT KAT CLUB

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club continues to play to packed audiences at London’s Playhouse Theatre. We spoke to actor Teddy Kempner, who has taken over the role of Herr Schultz, to talk about his interpretation and coming into the production with fresh eyes.

How does it feel to be part of this highly acclaimed revival of Cabaret, and what has it been like to join an already existing and reasonably long running production?

It’s very exciting, it’s so good – genuinely, it is so good, I’m just excited to be there. Everyone is very kind, friendly and helpful so it’s been a pleasure to join the production. It’s been hard work, but a great pleasure!

Why do you think this production of Cabaret has become so popular? And what do you think it is about Cabaret as a show that people love so much?

There is great music, great dancing, and it’s genuinely moving – it could be a play on its own. I’m not in the least surprised that it is so popular as there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a terribly strong piece, incredibly well interpreted. The transformation of the theatre is also remarkable. It’d never seen anything like this before. It’s an extraordinary experience.

How would you describe your interpretation of Herr Schultz? What attracted you to the role?

It’s a wonderful role to play. He’s an older man in love. He’s a kind old man and he’s pursuing his love at a time in the world when its incredibly dangerous for him as a Jew, but he doesn’t realise that, and he also doesn’t realise, like the rest of the world, what is coming upon them shortly. It’s so well written, with brilliant songs for him to sing, so it’s a thrill to be doing it.

What do you think Cabaret has to say about the world we now live in?

When we were rehearsing and I saw a swastika on someone’s arm for the first time in the play, it was incredibly shocking - I’m Jewish myself. Because you don’t see it very often, I’m glad to say, it was very shocking.

Yesterday I was reading the news on my phone and there was a photograph and an article about people standing with swastikas outside Disneyland because of the quarrel with the governor of Florida and Disney. Prescient doesn’t quite begin to get there really, does it? It’s deeply shocking. The show itself has a lot of comparisons with the world we live in today unfortunately, it hasn’t got anywhere near as bad as it was in Berlin at the time, but nevertheless there are still a lot of troubles in the world.

Cabaret is famously a somewhat harrowing and emotionally heavy piece. What advice would you give to any aspiring performers on navigating emotionally draining shows and keeping up their own mental wellbeing?

As a performer, you do get touched, moved, horrified, enlightened and thrilled by what it is you’re doing at the time. The only advice you can give people is always to leave that at work and when you go home have a real life. The storytelling that you do at work is important, but it has to be left behind otherwise it gets too difficult. Some people are better at this than others. Good luck everybody, it’s a difficult thing to do.

You've joined the cast alongside a number of other new stars. Why should audiences come along and see Cabaret either for the first time or again?

Maude Apatow (Sally Bowles) and Mason Alexander Park (Emcee) are brilliant, it’s just wonderful to watch them. My part of the story is sort of separate from theirs - we meet during the show but very briefly. They are remarkably strong as a pair, it’s worth turning up just to see them. Cabaret itself is one of the greatest musicals ever written and as I’ve said before, it would stand on its own as a play for sure. The music is just so memorable, the tunes never go away. You never take in a show completely when you see it for the first time, there’s so many details that pass people by, so it’s always worth going again.

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club is currently booking until December 2023, with tickets available here.