About the Show
This year’s Spiegeltent premiere will feature jaw-dropping aerial, mesmerizing cyr wheel, tantalizing burlesque and a singer with chops comparable to Adele, Elton, and Winehouse.
A night fit for royalty! Get ready to be shaken and stirred by the world’s best in circus and cabaret, straight from the West End.
This festive experience is an unmissable theatrical event unlike anything you’ve seen before in Charleston. The world’s best are bringing a night of glamour, humor and sparkle to the Gaillard Center, featuring tantalizing tricks that even 007 couldn’t do.
Set in the magnificent Spiegeltent, it promises to be a show that would make Freddie Mercury, Shakespeare, and Dame Julie Andrews blush.
Direct from London, Cabaret Royale is created by West End producer Underbelly, and Charleston is the USA premiere! Underbelly have most recently produced Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club and are one of the largest producers and venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Coming up they are producing a version of Macbeth with Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma and they are about to open a brand new venue in Soho, London. Underbelly are the biggest producers of Spiegeltent shows in the UK.
Cabaret Royale is recommended for audiences 18 years and over. The show contains partial nudity, adult themes, strobe & flashing lighting, danger, sass and strong language.
Audience participation notice: cast members may engage and interact with audience members in the first few rows.
This winter we’re so excited to bring Cabaret Royale to the Gaillard Center, direct from the West End. We promise it will be a night fit for royalty, featuring some of the best cabaret talent from around the globe – you won’t want to miss it.
Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood, Co-Directors of Underbelly
About the Artists
Danik Abishev is truly a global performer. Born into a traditional Russian circus family, Danik began performing at the age of four. As part of the Soviet Union state circuses, he toured China and the title of Honoured Artists of Russia. His family relocated to Brisbane and Danik continued his worldwide domination of performance arts. After working with hip-hop group Tom Tom Crew in the Middle East and South America, Danik charmed the people of Oz in Australia’s Got Talent. Danik later went on to perform in Le Perle at Dubai’s Al Habtoor City and Blanc de Blanc in Las Vagas. Danik joined Chelsea McGuffin in 2020.
She spent a year working at the Friedrichstadtpalast in Berlin on aerial rope. Other shows include the Brit Awards, the X Factor live tour and tv shows, Traces by the 7 Fingers, the Olympics Opening Ceremony for Danny Boyle as a Mary Poppins, and the Paralympics Closing Ceremony, for which she also choreographed the twenty aerial firefly performers.
She performed at the Southbank Spiegeltent every summer since it started, with La Clique, Black Cat Cabaret and Polly Rae’s Between The Sheets. She was a finalist on France Has Got Talent with her aerial partner Hugo Desmarais, choreographed and performed on the Royal Variety Show, and works regularly on the London cabaret scene in venues such as Circus London, Bunga Bunga, The Box, The Windmill Soho and Wonderville, as well as for corporate events, for which she is also a creative/ casting consultant.
She teaches aerial disciplines on the degree course at the National Centre for Circus Arts and has worked with them and FEDEC on developing teaching practices.
Josie jones is an international circus performer. Originally from the UK Josie has recently returned from Florida where she performed at Universal studios for the past two years. Alongside this her work in the cabaret and circus scene includes various venues across the west end of London, international events, tv and screen and works closely with the fire performance group The Fuel Girls. Josie began studying the ancient art of hair suspension four years ago. She has been increasingly interested in combining her physical theatre and dance training within her circus work and now travels globally perfoming her acts.
Grace Lusk is a character comedian, stand up, and clown hot off of 5 years headlining Spiegelworld’s OPM at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. She’s graced (see what I did there) many stages including The Laugh Factory, Hollywood Improv, and Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles. Born out of the Chicago comedy scene and raised in the Los Angeles clown company The Idiot Workshop, Grace is sure to stir things into a raucous frenzy. She lives in Las Vegas where she produces, writes, and directs three of her own shows Hot Trash, Who Knows?, and America’s Mayor.
“The so-called ‘Queen of Classic Burlesque’ (The Stage), Miss Jolie Papillon, is an award-winning, world-renowned star with the reputation of ‘Burlesque Royalty’. Jolie is an exquisite dancer and performer who trained at one of Europe’s most prestigious theatre academies before making her mark on the glamorous world of Burlesque. After performing worldwide in 2019 with Party Like Gatsby, Jolie continues touring in her Giant Martini Glass with the live big band Prohibition 1923 and performing for luxury, international private events. Miss Papillon is the co-producer and director of the acclaimed vintage Revue Gin House Burlesque, who recently danced on the legendary Orient Express.
Charlie Wheeller grew up in the port city of Southampton, and as a young man ventured to London to train as a circus artist at the National Centre for Circus Arts.
It was there that he met a lifelong partner in the Cyr Wheel. They haven’t really stopped spinning together since, exploring the vibrant corners this world has to offer from the colourful parties in Sao Paulo to the extraordinary landscapes of Australia.
He co-founded Barely Methodical Troupe and continues to create an acrobatic language that speaks to audiences across the globe.
“This production of Cabaret Royale features an immensely strong line up of world class artists. We can’t wait to unleash the artistry, skill and wit into the Gaillard Center for a festive spectacular.”
Katharine Arnold, Creative Director of Cabaret Royale
About Underbelly
Underbelly is a UK based live entertainment company that specialises in producing and programming ground-breaking theatrical productions and the creation of city centre cultural events and festivals. Founded in 2000 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by Ed Bartlam and Charlie Wood, the company has since gone on to produce shows and events in locations from theatres to roundabouts from London to Asia. In 2019, pre-COVID, we welcomed more than 9 million people to our productions, events and festivals.
Current Underbelly productions include the seven times Olivier award winning production of Cabaret in London’s West End, for which they are the lead co-producer (with ATG Productions) and the trailblazing cabaret show La Clique. Recent previous productions include Five Guys Named Moe (Marble Arch Theatre), Olivier Award nominated for Best Entertainment; Austentatious (Fortune Theatre); Bernie Dieter’s Berlin Underground (Underbelly Festival); 360 All Stars (London Wonderground, Earl’s Court) and La Clique (Leicester Square and Singapore). Underbelly is the largest presenter and producer of Spiegeltent shows in the UK.
Underbelly is one of the leading venue producers at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, every year presenting 150+ shows per day across 25 venues for the four weeks of the festival. Highlights of our 21 years at the festival include presenting Fleabag in 2013, Six in 2018, Joan Rivers in 2008, two seasons of CIRCA’s award winning Humans and shows from Mischief Comedy in 2012 and 2013.
Current festivals and events in the Underbelly portfolio include Underbelly at Depot Mayfield Manchester, Underbelly Festival, Christmas in Leicester Square & Trafalgar Square, the Leicester Square Spiegeltent and Underbelly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Underbelly are also the third-party producer for major events including Pride in London and West End Live.
Please note that for this performance online purchases have a limit of eight (8) tickets per customer. To purchase additional tickets or to inquire about group sales, please contact the ticket office directly at (843) 242-3099.