Stage Notes: CHAT NOIR! At The Lost Estate

There’s a new immersive show to see, and it’s lighting up West Kensington. Whisking audiences back to 1890s Paris with all the surroundings, cuisine and cabaret performances to boot, CHAT NOIR! is the latest dazzling creation by the team behind The Great Christmas Feast and 58th Street, The Lost Estate.

Anchored by cabaret star Joe Morose (real name Joe Morrow) who plays cabaret’s originator Rodolphe Salis, the owner and host of the titular club Le Chat Noir, guests are guided through an immersive evening of spine-tingling music, cabaret performances, decadent French cuisine and plenty of wine.

Wondering what to expect? We tapped Morose for the behind-the-scenes intel.

CHAT NOIR! At The Lost Estate: What To Expect

What’s The Plot?

CHAT NOIR! centres on Rodolphe Salis, with all of the evening’s action taking place in his club, Le Chat Noir ‘on the night he gives birth to modern cabaret,’ Morose says. ‘Set in 1890s Montmartre, CHAT NOIR! places you inside the original club. It is Salis’ life’s work to transform “entertainment while you dine” into an artform that is a machine for change, expression, politics and freedom.’

Alongside an evening of Cabaret, guests enjoy a three-course dinner and are totally enveloped in the historically-accurate surroundings with a keen attention to detail. ‘Every element feels rooted in the world of 1890s Paris, but heightened just enough to match the theatricality of the show,’ Morose says. ‘You’re not watching history as such, you’re inside it. You might love it, you might hate it, but you certainly can’t ignore it! Think past meets punk!’

Rather than stuffy in its historical roots, CHAT NOIR! is all glitz and glam – a welcome escape from the glum world outside The Lost Estate’s walls. ‘A chance to lose yourself in a place built on creativity and love is the antidote,’ Morose says – as is cabaret.

‘Since Salis gave birth to cabaret as we know it, it’s been an artform that thrives in times of adversity,’ Morose explains. ‘What he created paved the way for the reactionary Kabaretts of Weimar Germany, the Dada movement of the Cabaret Voltaire in the inter war years and the alternative scene through the second half of the 20th Century. In today’s world of growing social division and identity politics being weaponised, being shown that embracing and celebrating individuality and difference is quite a necessary reminder. Cabaret has historically facilitated and celebrated this discussion. And it still does.’

Joe Morose as Rodolphe Salis.

A trained actor and cabaret performer, Morose describes CHAT NOIR! as ‘a really exciting challenge,’ finding Salis somewhere between those two worlds. ‘So much of it has had to be meticulously scripted to tell the story of the man, but also I have to rely on all of the skills learned from being a compere and comic to keep it alive in the moment,’ Morose explains.

As for his character, ‘Rodolphe Salis is someone whose name looms large over the world of Cabaret, but the joy of this project has been delving into the world of the man and learning his philosophy,’ Morose says. ‘He was punk and he was very rock and roll. His life’s work was to transform what had historically been background entertainment while hospitality occurred, into the primary reason for being in a Cabaret. He saw what was happening in terms of the avant-garde art movement of bohemian Paris and saw possibility in its evolution. He was a combination of arrogance and charisma, which fuelled his revolutionary artistic spirit as well as those of his friends, collaborators and colleagues.’

In CHAT NOIR!, Salis functions somewhat as a compere, joined by the club’s house band, Les Enfants Vagabondes, and introducing a company of 1890s artistes across the evening. ‘He’s the conduit between the audience and the performers,’ Morose says. ‘The joy for me is that I have been doing this very job for fifteen years, so it’s been fascinating to really delve into the inception and evolution of this role, tracing it back to its origins in the world of 1890s cabaret.’

While Morose plays CHAT NOIR!’s main character, he is far from the only creative involved in the production. The cabaret performers he is joined by were handpicked by Morose to emulate real historical figures, and ‘it’s as much a joy for me to watch them work as it is for the audience,’ Morose says. ‘The ability of proper cabaret performers to be reactive within the solid structure of an act makes the work feel so present and alive. I’m excited for audiences to share in that joy: watching real masters of their craft at work.’

Not least is creative director William Kunhardt, who ‘takes his expert knowledge in classical music and applies it to each different medium,’ Morose says. ‘From the storytelling and theatre to the experiential elements, it allows everything to have a sort of symphonic structure. Whenever there’s a question from hospitality, marketing, in-show narrative, he applies the logic of musical structure and inevitably finds the cohesive answer. It’s what builds The Lost Estate magic.’

CHAT NOIR! marks the third instance of Morose and Kunhardt collaborating, after 58th Street and Paradise Under the Stars. ‘We’ve had two years to understand each other’s vibe. So, writing the show together was bonkers but fun; each of us bringing a mad idea to the table and the other person helping to make it madder and then both honing it to try and steer the madness into something that is playable on stage,’ Morose reflects.

The Venue

Seating up to 220 guests, CHAT NOIR! sees The Lost Estate’s West Kensington HQ transformed into the titular 1890s Parisian club. ‘The world has been designed by Tom Kirk-Shannon, who is nothing short of a genius,’ Morose says. ‘His meticulous craftsmanship means that every ingredient is thought through from the Art Nouveau vaulting and chandeliers on the ceiling, to the tiny details in your menus.’

After entering through Salis’ screening process, you will sit in the historically accurate cabaret club, a peruse a menu in keeping with the period and location; think Champagne, French cuisine and even absinthe served in an authentic drip. ‘All of it is based on the historical research we’ve been doing for a year, but then it’s been elevated into a total fantasy world to serve the insanity of the show we’ve created,’ Morose explains.

These up-close, intimate surroundings are perfectly suited to Morose’s tastes: ‘I live for the riff. Nothing is more thrilling to me than navigating in and out of the narrative to be responsive to what the audience offers. To really make them feel that they’re in the world of this man, we have to be responsive to what they bring. There’s no fourth wall, so we’re talking directly to you. When we ask you a question we want you to answer and the show could take a different turn depending on what you say. It’s playing a scene with an actor you’ve never met yet and who has a different script to you. It’s playing jazz; the structure is there, but you have to be free in between the notes.’

What To Wear

The official CHAT NOIR! dress code is vintage Parisian, but you can lean as far into the magic as you wish. Think silks, velvets, waistcoats and dark romantic glamour – but a smart casual outfit is just as welcome, too.

‘Audiences for Chat Noir help us build the story. Whether you’re dressed as a Bohemian or a member of the Bourgeoisie, you’re also an integral part of bringing Montmartre to life,’ Morose says.

Mostly, you just need to bring a good attitude. ‘We want audiences who are there to really invest in watching the show and play their role within it,’ Morose says. ‘Some parts are raucous, some parts are beautiful and we want a room full of people who are ready to go on that journey. It’s all about artists, so we want you to think like an artist too.’

The Menu

Guests are treated to a three-course dinner, with a vegetarian menu and additional plates available to add. The core menu begins with pate, followed by coq au vin and finishing with a tarte au citron. On the side, add plates like snails, herb-crusted frogs legs and cured sausage.

The highlight for Morose? ‘Easy answer: the wine! The list has been meticulously created by Illya, Sam, Rowan and the team. There’s an incredible selection and you can be really indulgent if you like, but also they’ve made the basic Vin De Table high quality too, if that’s all you fancy splashing out on,’ he says. ‘I’m all for making wine drinking as egalitarian as possible!’

The Takeaway

What will you be thinking about on the journey home? Other than your full stomach, ‘I want audiences to take away a different perspective on what they think Cabaret is,’ Morose says. ‘People often approach a cabaret show as if what occurs on stage is an afterthought, or somehow secondary to the rest of their experience. This ought not to be the case.

‘Gary Barlow, when he was a judge on The X Factor, said to a couple of the acts “it all feels a bit Cabaret to me” as a negative comment. That’s stuck with me, because it proves that he has no idea about the artform and its power to communicate, change, express and include,’ Morose says. ‘If we are to bring to life Rodolph Salis and his legacy in the way it deserves, we need to show that it’s so much more than just “dinner and a show”.

‘I would love the people that watch this show to go out into the world and seek out cabaret work, performance art and explore the fringes more,’ Morose adds. ‘That’s where the interesting stuff is!’

Tickets

CHAT NOIR! is now open at The Lost Estate (9 Beaumont Ave, London W14 9LP), with booking open up to 31 July 2026.

Tickets start from £129.85pp.

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