Review: SABRAGE, Lafayette - Aug 2025

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Returning once again to Lafayette – an intimate music venue and sometimes nightclub in the heart of King’s Cross – titillating cabaret and circus spectacular Sabrage is a unique evening’s entertainment that delivers on its promise of an unforgettable and intoxicating experience…mostly.

Sabrage is defined as the ceremonial practice of opening a champagne bottle with a saber, and although some references to champagne and grapes are threaded throughout, this act doesn’t form the centrepiece of the show as one might expect.

This show has somewhat of an identity crisis, pitching itself in its marketing materials as full of ‘Southern charm’ which is nowhere apparent. The show is instead draped in French decadence, and wrought with European directness and blunt humour, particularly in the dry delivery of host Rémi Martin who draws the stiff British audience members out of their shell. Perhaps marketing a French themed show to a British audience is too much of a gamble? I can’t otherwise think why the show wouldn’t lean more into a vision of Parisien glamour and Moulin Rouge-flavoured debauchery.

Clowning around with fellow host Spencer Novich, Martin is a charming and engaging MC, although perhaps too much weight is given to the intervening bits between performances. This show feels a bit loose and baggy around the seams – there is plenty of room for the cast of specialised and skilled artists to pack in more dazzling performances. There is a distinct disparity between acts of truly jaw-dropping circus skills and amateurish dance breaks, including a physically uncomfortable pillow fight that leaves the audience draped in feather fibres.

For a show that pitches itself as a decadent and dazzling spectacle, the costumes are distinctly underwhelming. Again, we would caution against plastering marketing materials with the promise of ‘vintage glamour’ if even one of your cast members is going to be wearing jeans.

That being said, Sabrage is a delightfully riotous and bawdy night out. A cheeky cabaret in a stunning intimate venue that puts the audience right in the middle of the show.

*** Three stars

Reviewed by: Livvy Perrett

Sabrage is currently booking at London’s Lafayette until 31 December, with further info here.