Kit Kat Club

Playhouse Theatre

Interview with Marina Tavolieri - Swing and First Cover Sally Bowles.

"We have a ball downstairs in our dressing rooms. Our dressers, our costumes team, sound and lights, stage management, the front of house, the cleaners, and everybody in the building are an important part. It feels like a machine that is dependent on every single cog within it". - Marina Tavolieri

If you haven't been along for the Kit Kat Club experience... What are you doing? Leave your troubles outside and book those tickets. The immersive experience has been running at the Playhouse Theatre since November 2021, and it has seen so many incredible performers filling the iconic roles. Right now, we have Matt Willis as Emcee and Katie Hall as Sally Bowles until 23/05/2026. The whole cast is out of this world. If you don't know the story of 'Cabaret', I'm sure you've heard at least a snippet of the popular music by Fred Ebb and John Kander. The original book by Joe Masteroff was written in 1966. It's a brilliant show, and it's a 'Tab in The City' STAPLE show. If I could watch it every day, I would. Sometimes it's best to go into the show blind, to get the full effect of the story.

Swings, alternates and covers deserve so much appreciation for their ability to mould themselves into a range of characters, with such short notice. They are the glue that makes a show stay strong and supported. One performer has stood out from the crowd and has worked hard to get to where she is today, and her place in the Kit Kat Club is well respected. At this point, Marina Tavolieri is like part of the stage, the set and the show. The way her place in the show has developed since she began is remarkable. She sang as Sally at the Covent Garden Christmas Light Switch on last year and had a run as Sally Bowles from 22 October 2025 to November 5th 2025. I've been personally blown away by her journey, and I am excited to be sharing this interview with you.

If you are a lover of theatre and want a story that is brilliant or an aspiring musical theatre performer looking for a little inspiration, then this is the perfect story! We were lucky enough to have an eye-opening conversation with the hard-working Marina Tavolieri about all things Kit Kat! If you love the Kit Kat Club and Cabaret as much as me and want your love to grow deeper... this is the interview for you.

Let's get into it, shall we...

Production Image: Marc Brenner

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Q: Tell us a bit about the experience of the Kit Kat Club.

A: I think the club's experience is interesting in the way it transitions the audience as soon as you walk into the theatre. It is an immersive piece. We've got this incredible prologue company that does an amazing job of building the 'Kit Kat Club' world through the pre-show. It's amazing how the space and the energy of the Kit Kat Club is there when you walk in the door. You are in the world, and it's not really like you're coming to the theatre to watch a show. It's like you're attending a night at the club. The experience starts effervescent, joyful and alive. Then, the moment the scripted show starts with 'Willkommen', I think the audience goes through a really transformative experience of having all of the fun pre-show and then watching it get stripped away. The show reveals the reality of the lives of the characters at the time, with the rise of fascism taking place. It's almost being lulled into a false sense of safety in the beginning. The audience doesn't know what kind of ride they're in for, especially if they are not familiar with the musical. 

Q: How does it feel to work in the immersive setup as a performer?

A: The prologue company is such a key component of the immersive element. They have an hour and a half pre-show of their own with musicians and dancers. They're experts. It's incredible to watch. I've heard and watched them before I come on to do the scripted show, and I have no idea how they're doing it! It's really amazing! They are such a big part of the immersive element because they're who you're first introduced to, and their show travels with the audience into the theatre. When it comes to the scripted show, the big immersive element is the theatre itself, and it's been renovated for the show. There is a keep it in the Kit Kat Club mindset, so without giving everything away... The stalls feel us in their space in a way that is more elevated than a typical show. The show is performed in the round setup. So the audience can see each other, and there are a few numbers where there's a prominent feeling of the audience being a part of the story. 

Q: As a swing, what are the roles you’ve covered and what is your favourite?

A: I cover all the Kit Kat girls except for Fraulein Kost, so I cover Helga, Lulu, Frenchie, Texas, Rosie, and Sally Bowles. They all have a different payoff as an actor, and you get to push yourself in different ways. With Sally, there's this huge emotional journey, and the songs that I get to perform are real pillars within musical theatre. Everyone knows 'Maybe This Time’, and there are songs that you grow up singing and dreaming of singing on stage. Every time I get to play Sally, it is such an amazing experience, because of all the elements of the performance, and there's a dance element as well, which is really fun. I also love playing the Kit Kat girls; Julia Cheng's choreography is remarkable. What she's brought to the choreography is so amazing, it embraces the underground whacking/punking culture and queer culture. The link between that and 1930s Germany is amazing to see, because the club is also a queer space. It is so cool and so amazing. Getting to do that every night feels very special, because it's been a dream. 

I booked the show in my 3rd year of auditioning. So I had learned 'Willkommen' 3 years before actually getting to do it on stage. The payoff of performing it in front of a West End audience always feels surreal. I love playing the Kit Kat girls and Sally, just for different reasons. The Kit Kat girls all have different traits, and Julia also choreographed each one to have a certain texture, because she's a genius. That helps when you are playing them. You endow them with different qualities, and it makes them individual. What's also special about our show is that I never have to carbon copy anybody when I go on. I'm given the liberty to make my own rendition of each track, which is a real gift, especially in a West End show. It feels surreal every time I get to perform, because it's been such a dream for so long, and it is so special.

Q: What is your favourite thing about the show?

A: I've always really loved Cabaret, and I think this makes it hard to pin what my favourite, favourite thing about it is. It's very much a sum of its parts; everything about it makes it what it is. It's increasingly relevant, which is obviously scary, but it is important. I think having something like this in the West End and making it accessible to the general public who wouldn't necessarily go to niche pieces of theatre is important. The music by John Kander and Fred Ebb is also just quite incredible, and I love their work. What I love about the music in 'Cabaret' is that it has a 1930's Germany essence, but it is also indicative of when it was written. The music has these incredible motifs, and it feels timeless.

 Q: What is an audience reaction that has stuck with you?

A: The reactions that stick out to me are when I see people leaning in. This is if I'm playing Sally Bowles, I make eye contact with the audience, and when I see people leaning in and being active, I watch them take in the story and form their own opinions about it. That always piques my interest when I see somebody choosing to engage with me and not looking away, but really connecting with an actor on stage, it's special. I'm an immigrant, and it's a real privilege for me personally because I wanted to do this forever. It feels like a real privilege to go to the stage door and sign audience members' programmes, speak to people and take pictures.

I remember being 17 and wanting more than anything to do this. I would visit London to see shows, and seeing them, I would think about wanting to do this. It always feels, I keep using the word surreal, but it just does, it feels surreal to be on the other end of it, especially when people are coming to England to see the show. I speak to young students who have come to the show and decided to spend their money and their time at our show. It's amazing getting to see how it inspires people and young performers to push themselves and choose to be a part of the theatre world. That's always the stuff that sticks with me. My name is Marina Tavolieri, I'm Italian, and it's always cool when an audience member has come from Italy to watch the show, and they see my name and ask me if I’m Italian as well. It feels really nice to have that connection to other immigrants at the stage door. I always thought my last name was hard to pronounce, and it is, but I decided to keep my name as my stage name because I want it to be reflective of who I am. I come from a family of immigrants. My grandparents immigrated from Italy to Canada, and my parents immigrated to Belgium and raised me. I was born in Canada, but they raised me in Belgium, and then I immigrated here. Having that link to my background was important, especially when I get to speak to other immigrants who come to watch our show. 

Q: What do you bring to 'Sally Bowles' when you play the role?

A: What I aim to do with Sally is to understand and then portray the complexities of her beyond the stereotype that is placed upon her by characters in the show. I think that she's often dwindled down to this stereotypical party girl; she just wants to be a star, and she doesn't care about anything. That is, to a degree, true. I feel that she also has this really deep need to be loved in an intimate and real way, and be seen as a person. Not just the Sally Bowles trope that she presents herself to be. These things really can exist together at the same time. People are complex, so our characters have to be as well, and everyone is a walking contradiction most of the time. So I extend that courtesy to her. The audience knows that she's maybe a little bit of a storyteller and tries to make herself into this star. She's the survivor and a fighter, and I think that is what I try to portray most about her.

I think as an actor, I always try to respect her circumstances and the choices that she has to make within those circumstances. Often, the feedback I get about my portrayal of Sally is that my portrayal of her is very vulnerable. That is how I try to present her, despite how emotionally volatile and intense she can be. Her character is at the mercy of everything around her, so I try to honour her vulnerable moments. I try to allow her character to have a lot of fun, especially in the moments that she is performing at the club. I want to show what she loves and who she is alongside her darkness. Think of the life of a woman on her own in a foreign country, and when she definitely doesn't speak fluent German at that time. I just feel she is in such a tough position. What I intend to bring to her role is a portrayal of an honest, complex and layered person who is not all good, but definitely not all bad.

Every actor you'll speak to about it has their own perceptions of their character, and they will be different to another actor's perceptions, but all of it is always just supported in the script. The script, also, I think, is done in a way that allows the actor to develop their own perspectives on the character.

Q: If you could play any character in the show, who would it be?

A: Probably the Emcee. I think it would be amazing to get to play the other side of the coin. Also, Schneider, when I'm old enough for the role. I hope that I will get to play Schneider at some point. Sally Ann Triplett played Schneider last year, and she also played Sally Bowles when she was younger. I was in awe of her. What an incredible thing to be able to play both roles in your life, and what a dream.

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"The show has changed my life. It's been the most formative experience of my life, what a gift to do something that anyone would die to do and that I've wanted to do for so long, it's a real pinch-me thing, especially singing as the role of Sally for the London Christmas light switch-on; that felt really special". -  Marina Tavolieri

As you may have noticed, I have slotted a couple of quotes from our conversation. These are things Marina said I felt needed to be highlighted. I am sure you have been as blown away by this incredible performer's story as I am...

If so, to book your tickets to see the show, CLICK HERE

Your time at the Kit Kat Club is pending, and you would be a fool to miss out on seeing the show.

A huge thank you to Marina Tavolieri for sharing so much and for giving a closer look into the character of 'Sally Bowles'. She is an inspirational performer and such a lovely human. It's been such a great opportunity to work together to create this interview and talk about one of my favourite shows. I hope you have loved reading this as much as I enjoyed creating it for you theatre angels!