Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre, London
The Kit Kat Club is the Playhouse Theatre on Northumberland Avenue, a two-minute walk from Embankment station and next door to Charing Cross. Since November 2021 the inside has been rebuilt for Cabaret: the stage is a low circle in the middle and the 649 seats wrap round all four sides of it.
Around 649 seats
Your ticket may say Kit Kat Club, Playhouse Theatre, or both. It is one building and one entrance, on Northumberland Avenue.
Arrive 50 to 70 minutes before the performance. The doors open 75 minutes early, your booking carries a club entry time, and this is probably the only show in London where we tell people to turn up that far ahead. Get it wrong and you have paid for something you did not get.
The cheapest seat is in the Upper Circle at around £34 midweek. It is also 85 steps up, and there is no lift anywhere in the building. Given the choice, sit in the Stalls: the show is interactive and that is the level closest to it. The tables at the front are for a night where being beside the cast is the point; for everyone else, our pick is Stalls rows F and G. The stage is a circle at floor level and the seating rises about 5cm a row, so the height of the person in front of you decides a lot here.
This page and the eight below it: the seating plan first, then the Stalls, the Dress Circle and the Upper Circle row by row. After that, what time to arrive and how to get here, what the theatre can do on access, restaurants and pubs nearby, and the building's own history.
Quick facts
- Address: Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5DE
- Nearest tube: Embankment, 2 minutes
- Capacity: 649 seats
- Levels: Stalls, Dress Circle and Upper Circle, arranged in the round
- Lift: none. The Stalls is the only step-free level
- Arrival: doors 75 minutes before; arrive 50 to 70 minutes before
- Operator: ATG Entertainment
What's On at the Kit Kat Club
Cabaret, the Rebecca Frecknall production, is booking into 2027. No closing date has been announced, and a booking-until date is not the same thing: this run has extended repeatedly since 2021. It runs 2 hours 45 minutes including the interval.
Performances are Monday to Saturday at 7:30pm, with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm. Tuesdays start at 7pm, half an hour earlier than the rest of the week. There is no Sunday performance.
The Emcee and Sally Bowles are cast in runs of a few months at a time and the names change: Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley opened it, and Sarah Hyland and Skylar Astin have the two roles now. It won seven Olivier Awards in 2022, a record for a revival, and it has passed 1,800 performances in London.
Ten performers are credited as the Prologue Company and they appear only in the hour before the show. That is the part of the evening the arrival time is for.
Nothing else has been announced at the theatre beyond this run.
What tickets cost
Most seats here go from around £93 up to around £151. Below that, the Upper Circle starts at around £34 midweek. Above it, table seats are advertised from £200; on the two performances we priced they were £245 and £296, and the top of the building reached around £390 on the Saturday.
The Saturday was dearer than the Tuesday everywhere, not just at the cheap end, and two prices appeared on the weekend date that did not exist midweek at all. If the date is flexible, a weeknight is the cheaper night to come.
The seating plan says what each of those buys and where it sits.
Book tickets for the Kit Kat Club
All-in pricing: the price you see is the price you pay. Nothing is added at checkout.
The four sides of this theatre do not see the same thing and the booking plan will not tell you which side you are on. If you are choosing between two seats at the same money, call us and we will tell you the difference.
Kit Kat Club FAQs
Is the Kit Kat Club the same as the Playhouse Theatre?
Yes. The Playhouse Theatre on Northumberland Avenue has been fitted out as the Kit Kat Club since November 2021, and the operator uses both names for the same address. It is not a permanent renaming: the building is still the Playhouse Theatre and the Kit Kat Club is what Cabaret has made of it.
How many seats are in the Kit Kat Club?
649, which makes it one of the smaller West End theatres. They are spread over three levels and around all four sides of a central stage, so it is much closer than the seat count alone suggests. The plan looks nothing like the Playhouse Theatre's old one.
Is there a dress code at the Kit Kat Club?
No, and the theatre does not publish one. Wear what you like. A lot of people do dress up, and some lean into 1930s Berlin, so you will see everything from jeans to full costume in the same bar. Neither is out of place.
How long is Cabaret and what time does it finish?
Two hours 45 minutes including the interval. A 7:30pm is out at around 10:15pm, the Tuesday 7pm at around 9:45pm, and the Wednesday and Saturday 2pm matinees at around 4:45pm.
What happens if I arrive late?
Once the performance has begun there is no guaranteed way back in, and the wait can run to half an hour. With the stage in the middle there is no back of the auditorium to slip into, which is why the policy is what it is. If there is any chance you will need to leave your seat during the show, speak to staff on the way in.
Are there bars, and can I take a drink to my seat?
Three bars: the Gold Bar in the foyer, one at Dress Circle level and one in the basement. Use the one nearest your seat, and there is an at-seat service on request. Drinks go into the auditorium if they are transferred to plastic, and the seats have a ledge in front of them to put one on. The table rows have tables.
Can I take a bag in, and can I take photographs?
Small bags, yes, and they are checked on the way in. There is a cloakroom in the basement, next to the toilets, which charges per item. Leave large luggage behind if you can, because it slows down getting in. No photographs or filming anywhere inside, at any point: you are asked to cover your phone's cameras when you arrive.
Can I buy tickets at the Box Office?
Yes, on Northumberland Avenue. Open 10am to 7:30pm Monday to Saturday, shut on Sunday. This production has been selling since 2021 and the good seats go a long way ahead, so walking up on the night is a long shot.
Can I book by phone, or for a group?
Yes to both. Call us on 020 7193 9050 and we will tell you what is left on your date and keep a group together on one side of the stage rather than split across two. The price we tell you or you see on screen is the price you pay.