Paul Capsis On Finally Tackling The Role He'd Given Up On: Cabaret's Emcee

There could hardly be a more apt casting for the role of Emcee in the evergreen musical theatre favourite Cabaret than Paul Capsis. Since the early '90s, he's been an irrepressible stalwart of Australia's fringe scene, earning a reputation as a dynamite stage presence, most notably in his raucous and touchingly candid solo shows. But more than this, the renowned queer song and dance man boasts precisely the right balance of unabashed showmanship, gender-bending audacity, and cast-iron stagecraft, tinged with a faint hue of emotional vulnerability, to give Joel Grey - the definitive Emcee, immortalised in the iconic 1972 film adaptation starring Liza Minnelli - a run for his money.

Given his innate synergy with this character, it might come as a surprise that Capsis' appearance in Hawk Entertainment's new production of Cabaret, premiering at Sydney's Hayes Theatre before transferring to the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne, is the first time he's tackling the role. It's a turn which has been a long time coming. "I've always been drawn to Cabaret - it's always been incredibly important to me," he explains. "It represents everything I love about the theatre; it's that wonderful, rare event when art speaks to us about something significant while still being entertaining. It celebrates this idea that we all yearn for freedom, whether it's in your sexuality, you're a woman fighting for equality, or you're a person who feels that you're in the wrong body."

Set in Berlin at the turn of the 1930s, Cabaret is a study of imperfect yet captivating characters, embroiled in tempestuous love affairs and debaucherous lifestyles. In the seedy sanctuary of the Kit Kat Klub - a haven of music, dancing and sexual liberation - "life is beautiful". But outside its walls, a political agitator called Adolf Hitler is on the rise. His Nazi Party is gaining traction, but few are prepared to accept the mortal danger this political sea-change poses.

"These days, if you're drinking a latte and reading a book, you're a fucking elite! Give me a break."

Fred Ebb and John Kander's bittersweet portrait of life in the short-lived Weimar Republic was an instant success on Broadway when it premiered in 1966 and in the five decades since it has enjoyed almost ceaseless revivals as one of musical theatre's most consistently staged works. Half a century of indestructible popularity has earned Cabaret its place in the pantheon of mainstream musical megahits, but while it centres on a relatively conventional heterosexual love story, between young American writer Clifford Bradshaw and firecracker cabaret starlet Sally Bowles (played in this Australian production by Jason Kos and Chelsea Gibb respectively), Cabaret is undeniably a tale about otherness and non-conformity. Beyond its toe-tapping songs and titillating chutzpah, it is a show about what it means to be queer.

Capsis has always been struck by how ahead of its time this subtext was when the Kit Kat Klub first flung open its doors on Broadway in the mid-'60s: "It's surprising how little most people know about the Weimar era. Just from the previews of our production, we're getting some very interesting responses from people who are amazed that these characters could have existed in that time and place. But these roles aren't fantasies - they're very much like the people from Berlin, who did these extraordinary things. They were just living their lives as they wished to live them, and we are living that same life today. It's incredibly moving to think of this ideal they had, of being completely and utterly and totally free, and how familiar that desire still is."

Also familiar is the attitude of denial so poignantly captured in Cabaret and its unsettling resonance with the current geopolitical climate, which has seen the rise of alt-right populism in mainstream politics. "It's a story that really shows that the potential is always there for things to turn on a dime," Capsis observes. "I've always believed that - we must never take our freedoms for granted. The timing of this production is pretty extraordinary. Obviously, there's what is happening in America with Mr Trump, but we've been experiencing similar rumblings in Australia for some time now, really since the emergence of One Nation and Pauline Hanson. I remember her presence and what she stirred back in the '90s. I remember thinking, 'that's always been there - that anger at the other within this country.' And it's not just a hatred of homosexuals - people are furious with the so-called elite. These days, if you're drinking a latte and reading a book, you're a fucking elite! Give me a break. It's like all the wars that we've all fought for our freedoms - our sexual freedom, our freedom to be individuals - all the protests and the many, many revolutions; they count for nothing."

While he has long aspired to the role, inhabiting the character of the Emcee for the first time has been a surprisingly challenging experience for Capsis. "It hasn't been easy, but then again it's not an easy piece," he shares. "That's the interesting thing about certain roles - sometimes they are difficult because they cause and create disturbances within ourselves, perhaps because I'd given up on ever playing him, I think. But I am so grateful and proud to finally be doing it. It's has been a process, but I am fuelled by the Emcee."

Hawk Entertainment presents Cabaret, to 5 Mar at Hayes Theatre, Sydney, and 27 Apr — 20 May at the Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne.