Gatsby Presents...100 years of Cabaret 1920- 2020

It didn't happen due to Covid-19 government restrictions

I attended the event on Halloween Friday, 30/10/2020. I will write this review and try to give a rating to various parts of the event, but also an overall. Food: 5/5 Excellent. Loved everything. Plenty to eat and good quality. We had the 5 course Diamond menu so you pay a bit more but with that option, the fillet steak was AMAZING: large, soft and delicious. The mousse au chocolate was another treat and wonderful with a good hint of Mexican spice. A good sized cheeseboard finished it off. Location: 5/5 A lovely setup from the entrance to the stairs down to the bar were all atmospherically set-up. The main ballroom had multiple projections onto the side wall which were part marketing / part Dia De Muertos videography. The tables were set up nicely and the Diamond section was on a multi tiered stage so face special Music (DJ): 3/5 Good music choices but a bit too loud at the stage end where the "VIP" / Diamond ticket-holders are sat. It was set up as a PA system, so the main speakers were just at one end of the large room. Just behind us! Service: 3/5 It seemed like the people employed as servers had not been trained in the way that the socially distanced table service system was meant to run. There were quite a few issues. There were probably not enough bar-tenders or servers and too many people (men) with tablets who walked around and I felt they just got in the way with their orders to other staff when really they needed to be helping out. We watched at least a dozen attempts to take drinks to the wrong tables by mistake and then the servers had to turn around and take them back to the bar. One of my pet hates is when waiters take plates, glasses, etc. off the table while I am still eating. Just leave it until I am done (this goes to all restaurants that do this!). The pre-ordered wine was waiting for us on the table but the cocktails and water we requested took over 30 minutes to arrive and a few prompts to the waiters. I know there were a lot of people to take care of but I felt like I was one of those who were completely disregarded. The main problem: The entertainment: Sadly, a missed opportunity and the parts that skews the overall score the most! 1/5 for concept, design and production, 4/5 for quality of the performance The event was specifically called El Dia of the Dead. The specified theme was bright colours and sugar skulls and a lot of people put an effort into dressing up to fit this theme. The entrance and bar were all set up nicely to reflect this theme. There were some cute Mariachi performing before the show which was nice to settle in to and this built the scene, which then failed to materialise! Why did they stop there! For the main dinner show (split into four parts) the performers were good (live singers and dancers, some burlesque and some light circus. It was all very well performed and would have been very enjoyable if it were not for the LAZY musical theming. The musicand songs were not planned or rehearsed for this occasion and were nothing to do with the themed Day of The Dead event! How did they get that wrong?!? There were two songs towards the end that fitted in (both were from Disney's Coco - La Llorona & Remember me). The rest of the show simply missed the point completely as they just served up a different show: James Bond theme tunes!! We had Goldeneye, Goldfinger, A View To A Kill, Tomorrow never Dies, Thunderball etc etc. Why? I can't explain the relevance! The performances were all good, the costumes were great, but only for a James Bond Evening. It was glaringly obvious that it was nothing of relevance to the night's theme of Mexican Dia De Muertos and made the whole event feel a bit of a letdown. Overall: Enjoyable but could have been so much more as it was let down by not meeting the expectations of the advertised theme. It is an expensive night out and, sadly, probably not worth the money we paid (£330 in total) (which would buy at least two equivalent food&drink nights out in a decent restaurant)