Shears, who starts in the role from Monday September 25, will be joined by fellow singer Rebecca Lucy Taylor, aka Self Esteem, who will play the part of Sally Bowles in the acclaimed musical – a part first played by Jessie Buckley in this revival of the hit show.
The show, which opened in late 2021, has been a huge hit with the Playhouse Theatre transformed into the fictional Kit Kat Club – a seedy cabaret venue in pre-war Berlin – with critics lauding the performances of Redmayne and Buckley.
Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley in Cabaret
/ Marc BrennerShears said: “It is my privilege and honour to play the Emcee in this incredible show. I am especially excited to be sharing the stage with the force that is Self Esteem. This role has been a lifetime dream of mine and I couldn’t imagine a better production of it to be a part of.”
The hit musical, famously made into a film starring Liza Minnelli as the cabaret singer Sally, was inspired by the novels of English writer Christopher Isherwood based on his own experiences in the German capital as the Nazis rose to power and clamped down on its liberated night life.
Taylor, whose pop career has seen her nominated for the Mercury Prize and a Brit Award, said: “I’ve never made a secret of my love of theatre and I honestly couldn’t be more excited about getting to make my stage debut as one of the greatest leads of all time. I’ve joked for years that there’s no need for a Self Esteem musical really because Sally’s story covers most of the points and here we are. I am both artistically and emotionally raring to take on this challenge. Pinch me!”