The show
Voyage of Love cabaret explained
What the Voyage of Love cabaret on Sydney Harbour is: how cabaret works, how the show is built from a prelude and nine city segments, and who performs it.
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Voyage of Love is the cabaret staged on the Sydney Showboat, a show of about one hour performed by an Australian ensemble. The operator describes a prelude and nine segments, each inspired by a different city, ending with Sydney. Guests watch from their seats after dinner, as in a classic cabaret, where the audience sits at tables and does not usually dance.
What cabaret is
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment that features music, song, dance, recitation or drama, and its performances are usually introduced by a master of ceremonies. It is staged in venues such as restaurants, pubs and hotels, and the audience, often dining or drinking, sits at tables and does not typically dance. That is why a cabaret suits a dinner cruise so well: the table is the seat, the meal is already on it, and the stage is a few steps away. By the Weimar era German cabaret was marked by political satire and gallows humour, which is a long way from the costume-and-song show that the operator promises, with stunning costuming and cheeky twists.
Where the form comes from
Cabarets existed in Paris by the late 15th century, when they served food as well as wine, but the first cabaret in the modern sense was Le Chat Noir, opened in Montmartre in 1881 by Rodolphe Salis. Patrons sat at tables and drank while they watched a variety show, and the shadow plays that the club staged became its best-known feature. German Kabarett followed in the early 20th century. The Chat Noir combined music with political commentary and satire, and its comic monologues and shadow plays became models for later cabarets.
How Voyage of Love is built
The operator describes the show as a prelude that welcomes guests, followed by nine segments, each inspired by a different city. The Las Vegas segment opens the main show and the Sydney segment closes the show, as the cast say goodbye and the boat returns to its berth. The operator calls it one enchanting hour, and the ticket's itinerary lists the dance show as one hour, which fits inside a cruise of about three hours. The operator's page describes the show as a tour through love across cultures.
The cast and the costumes
The show is performed by an Australian ensemble that the operator calls the Showboat Follies. Costumes change with each city, and the Paris can-can, for example, comes in red, white and blue ruffled dresses. Sydney.com adds Spanish flamenco and a Bollywood number to its description. A regular guest writes that the cast change the show from time to time, so treat any list of numbers as a sample of the style rather than tonight's running order.
Where it sits in the evening
The ticket's itinerary puts the dinner first and the one-hour dance show after it, and the operator says guests take their seats for the show after time on deck. Sydney.com notes that guests watch from their seats. So the evening has a shape: sights and a meal while the boat moves, then a stage hour at your table. The cruise is billed as lasting about three hours from boarding, and start times differ by date. The operator's dinner cruise page lists the three-hour cruise as including a one-hour cabaret show.
Who this isn't for
One reviewer on the ticket found the entertainment a bit old-fashioned and, in that reviewer's view, sexist, which is a fair warning about the form: this is a traditional revue with costume changes and a master-of-ceremonies style of pacing, not a contemporary drama or a concert. If you want a quiet dinner, a modern production or a dance floor, choose another evening. The cruise is also not suitable for wheelchair users, because passengers must reach the boat by the gangway on foot.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the show?
About one hour. The operator describes one enchanting hour, and the ticket's itinerary lists the dance show as one hour.
Who performs Voyage of Love?
An Australian ensemble that the operator calls the Showboat Follies.
Do I watch from my table?
Yes. Sydney.com says guests watch from their seats, and a cabaret audience usually sits at tables.
Is the programme the same every night?
Not necessarily. The cast change the show from time to time, so the segments named on any page are a sample, not a promise.
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