THE CABARET FILES

To coincide with our production of the Broadway musical, we present a series of cast profiles.

In The Chair: Joe Prestwich

Character: Ernst Ludwig

An ex-student of the college now working in the FYI. We were very grateful for Joe to give us a few minutes of his time to discuss his role in the upcoming Blackpool Sixth production of the musical Cabaret.

So Joe, could you tell us exactly what Cabaret is all about?

Well, it’s a great musical. It’s all about the nightlife of Berlin at the start of World War II, and the people involved. The characters are really fun and interesting, but at the same time its quite sinister, and the music really sets it all off.

And what character do you play?

I play Ernest Ludwig.  He’s a great character, I find him really exciting to play. At the start he seems a really nice funny guy, all about the parties and women. But what makes him a very good character to me, is that he has quite a dark side- He belongs to the Nazi Party, and because of this he becomes part of the bigger twists in the play.

So what’s the overall dynamic of the rehearsals like? Does everyone get along?

Well, I’ve not been there for all of them, but the ones I have been there for are usually a lot of fun. Everyone seems to get on very well, most of the time.

How are you feeling about the performance? Are you nervous?

Mostly I’m just excited, because I like Ernest so much (though I would be hesitant to say I identify with a Nazi.) At the moment, it doesn’t really feel like a proper show to me, because we’ve never done a full run through before. I think when we do, I might be a bit nervous…

How would you feel about doing future productions?

Yes, yeah, definitely. I did drama in high school, and when I was a student here, I always wanted to get involved. So to be doing it now… it’s great.

We are very much looking forward to seeing Joe in Cabaret, and we wish him and the rest of the cast a ton of luck with the upcoming rehearsals!

Written by Catherine Hindle


You can catch Cabaret at Montgomery High School on the 2nd 3rd and 4th of March.