Last night I rewatched the original West End production of Sam Mendes’ 1993 Cabaret revival.

For me, the Mendes version will always be the canonical version because I saw a Sydney production of it with Tina Arena as Sally and Toby Allen as the Emcee. Nadine Garner and Henri Szeps were in supporting roles. It was as simply an amazing cast.

I hadn’t watched it for a couple of years and last night it was different.

After the last twelve months in the US it felt more like a a warning for the future than a reflection of past events.

It rang true for the ICE raids and kidnappings of anyone with a little colour in their skin. Particularly the Herr Schultz line “…but I’m a German. A German.”

It rang true for all the anti-trans & LGBTQIA+ sentiment. The Emcee ends up in a concentration camp at the end and has a pink triangle stamped on his clothing.

Twelve months. It’s only twelve months since he got back in the white house.