Review: SABRAGE at Lafayette, King’s Cross

Stuart King 7 May, 2026, 09:51

When it comes to cabaret shows which can legitimately claim to do exactly what they say on the tin, SABRAGE is up there with the very best, boasting comedy, dance, songs, acrobatics, a bit of nudity… oh and doing exactly what it says on the Champagne bottle (which in very best Sabrage tradition, dictates should be de-corked with a swift beheading manoeuvre using a sabre).

Julia Stewart in Sabrage at Lafayette, King’s Cross. Credit Christian Nimri

Boasting a company of talented and engaging performers, director Scott Maidment has corralled his troupe into delivering a sequence of light-hearted, playful, exciting and erotic skits which incorporate and draw on some evident circus skills, vocals, trapeze, dance and slapstick, leading to a whole host of thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable segments and crowd-pleasing eye-popping moments.

Returning to the production are Neven Connolly, Skye Ladell, Emma Phillips and Christian Nimri. Seamlessly joining them on the stage (and sometimes in amongst the audience) are newcomers, Kylie Rose Webb, Jarnéia Richard-Noel, Alex Makardish & Julia Stewart all of whom contribute to the general furore and have individual moments in which to shine.

High points in an evening of terrific entertainment, are a chaotic pillow fight which ends the first half and gloriously seems to involve just about everyone in the auditorium. Company numbers are fast and furious then laconic and comedic by turns. My favourite of the individual skits was the breathtaking pace and physical humour delivered by Neven Connolly's in his slickly lip-synched amalgamation of songs, film clips and famous remarks. He manages to evoke a cross between Rowan Atkinson's Mr Bean and Jim Carrey in his wilder moments. Skye Ladell delivers the sort of lithe and flexible manoeuvres which mark her out as a deeply erotic and skilled dancer. And Christian Nimri manages to be both naturally charming, handsome and uber energetic in his aerialist routine, eliciting whoops and cheers from every patron. Elsewhere, there is table and parasol juggling (whilst flat on the back using legs), someone walks atop a row of Champagne bottles in high platform shoes, there's a bout of grape catching (in the mouth) and a distinctly French musical moment in which one of the show's hosts performs a song using his occasionally visible appendage to slap out a tune.

With drinks and food available at the venue, the show runs at an exact and zinging 2 hours including interval and is set to continue until 6th September. It's camp, daft, sharply delivered and absolutely oodles of fun. Go!