Goodbye to Berlin

Calling all Cabaret fans!

Have you ever wondered what happened to Sally Bowles after the undesirables of 1930s Hitler held Berlin went running?

Written and performed by Priscilla Armstrong, Goodbye to Berlin is Sally Bowles’ final cabaret before she departs the ruins of her life in the crumbling city. Based in an abandoned house turned cocktail bar, the play weaves a story of Sally’s life after the story Cabaret as we know it ends.

The show is held out of The Butterfly Club, a heart of the city theatre — one of the most ‘Melbourne’ places you’ll step foot into, given its covert laneway location, kitschy décor and advocacy for grassroots production, where the cocktail bar will customise their drinks specials according to the shows.

Played out in just under an hour (a typical timeframe for a cabaret), Priscilla stated she wanted to deliver an accessible but thrilling piece of theatre.

‘I didn’t want this to be something only hard core theatre/cabaret audiences would enjoy. I wanted comedy, truth, insight, surprise and mostly to take people on a journey to a time that in many ways was more liberated than the world is today,’ divulged Priscilla.

She understands that most people don’t leave the cabaret asking the question of what happened to Sally, and adds that part of the accessibility of her piece is that even if you didn’t know Sally before, the show is enough for you to get to know her and enjoy a piece of theatre that could be appreciated as great show songs or strong, story/character driven music.

‘The show uses songs, storytelling to give reference to the world around Sally and help immerse the audience in this window in time,’ said Priscilla.

‘Sally Bowles was the last to let go of Berlin. The world was falling apart around her, everyone was disappearing, hiding, running away but Sally wasn’t ready to let go. Sally throws an underground Cabaret in an attempt to raise some money but no-one really has any.’

Does she make it out? The answer is suggested in the show.

You can catch Sally’s last stand in Mansfield on Saturday, 16 September and Bright from Thursday, 7 to Sunday, 10 December. We can also look forward to hearing more from Priscilla, as she prepares to host another original production in 2018 about a wedding gone wrong to the backdrop of toe tapping country music.

Goodbye to Berlin
The Butterfly Club, Carson Place, off Little Collins Street
thebutterflyclub.com/shows