Review: Chatty Cabaret (Valentines edition) at Chats Palace

Love day may have technically been and gone, but somewhere deep in London there is a cabaret determined to keep the spirit of love somewhat alive. Behind the Greek pantheon like façade, there lies an arts centre, where a host of comics, each with their own unique style, gather for our entertainment.

Chatty Cabaret was founded by Bonya and Sophie G. Clark, as a night offering a wide variety of alt-comedy, fringe successes and cabaret acts. The first show took place on the twenty fifth of September twenty twenty five and it has been running semi-monthly at Chats Palace ever since.

There's a lot to be said for the atmosphere, which sets the tone for the evening. Performers and audience members are able to mingle, the venue itself is warm and welcoming, and the hosts of this eclectic night have enough electric charisma to power half of London.

This cabaret has a wide variety of performers, which vary depending on the month, so let's delve into this particular show’s acts...

Bonya

One of the night's co-hosts, this larger than life master of vibes kicks off the evening with what could arguably be seen as the theme song of Chatty Cabaret. Her comedic stylings for the evening consist of hilariously witty anecdotes about her love life, interspersed with song parodies. There is no denying that she has an incredible voice, which in some ways overshadows the alterations made to the songs she is singing, meaning that we get swept up in the beauty of her vocal talent. Yet this creates a striking contrast between the aforementioned comedic anecdotes, making her performance highly engaging with her ability to catch the audience off guard in the best way.

Sophie

This fabulous other half of the hosting duo specialises in classic stand up. Conversational comedy with snappy punchlines, delivered with perfect timing, which feels very down to earth and on a level with the audience. A great warm up act for the start of the night to get us all warmed up and feeling good.  

Rosie Wood

Do you like avant-garde? Then Rosie is the comedian for you. Abstract comedy is combined with elements of conversational and visual comedy. In this case, tales about being a model are combined with photos of the chaotic end result. Watching Wood’s performance is like staring deeply into the soul of a weird and wonderful abstract painting.  

Judy Harris

Enter the wild card of the night, this character comedian had me crying with laughter. Her character, Gel Shitty, the wealthness steward is the toxic masc stereotype you never knew you needed. A seeming TED Talk that quickly escalates into man-splaining, this section of the evening touches on politics, business and gender. Yes, it’s clowning, it’s supposed to be ridiculous in the best way, but it also feels shockingly real at points upon the realization of how similar some of the topics and one liners are to actual news headlines and political speeches/arguments made by the right wing. Harris’s skill is using comedy to point out how insanely harmful certain perspectives are, which makes this performance both powerful and memorable. If you haven’t experienced the sheer man essence of Gel Shitty, then you are missing out. Just one piece of advice, do not touch the marshmallows!

Christian Dart

After great success across the lengths and breadths of the fringe circuit, (most recently the Leicester Comedy Festival) Christian Dart arrives with a bang to share an extract from his solo show: Gumshoe! The extract chosen, having seen the full show, is cleverly selected and sets the audience up well for what to expect from the performance. High- energy and witty character clowning is mixed with a healthy dose of film noir/classic crime thriller geekiness and washed down with a tall glass of audience interaction. Arguably the most thrilling part of the evening, it left me wanting to plan a return trip to see Detective Gumshoe crack his next case. 

Russell Hicks

Headliner for the night, Hicks’s performance is a bit slow going at first. A lot of it is testing out new material, which is ridiculously brave and credit to him for doing that. He comes across as uncomfortable and awkward on the stage, so sitting there I feel bad that the audience seems to be struggling to engage with his style. That being said, things really pick up when he increases his interaction with the audience and starts using it to his advantage, with the results being an utterly hilarious running gag about ‘Newsweek’. There’s a lot to be said for persistence when the comedy doesn’t quite land with the current room. 

All in all, Chatty Cabaret is a bright and bubbly night out, with a second to none community vibe. The variety makes it significantly more enjoyable, so there is something for everyone, even if you feel like you don't laugh at much. It is definitely worth going out of your way for and I would highly recommend bringing a friend along to share in the fun.

Star rating: **** Four stars

Age rating: Sixteen plus

Content warnings: Varying