Taylor Swift's latest album, The Life Of A Showgirl, comes out on 3 October. She's already announced the track list and shown us the artwork, and though "showgirl" can have several different meanings, Swift seems to be using the full Las Vegas-style, all-singing, all-dancing, glitzy costumes interpretation. It's giving diamonds, it's giving headdresses and it's giving feathers. Here's where you can get your fill of cabaret, burlesque and showgirl-style performances in London ahead of The Life Of A Showgirl being released.
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Moulin Rouge! The Musical at Piccadilly Theatre
Parisian club the Moulin Rouge — probably the world's most famous cabaret club — combines burlesque with the French Cancan in all-singing, all-dancing performances. It first reached prominence in Baz Luhrmann's 2001 jukebox musical film Moulin Rouge, starring Nicole Kidman as cabaret actress and star of the show Satine, and Ewan McGregor as English poet Christian, who falls in love with her. Set in the French capital at the start of the 20th century, it's dripping in bohemian vibes, ruffled skirts and dramatic feathers, all of which are recreated in the stage musical, currently on at the Piccadilly Theatre
Moulin Rouge! The Musical at Piccadilly Theatre. Currently booking until February 2026.
Sabrage at Lafayette
Performers mingle among the audience — and in some cases, lure them up on stage — in Sabrage, a Louisiana-inspired experience featuring finest circus and acrobatic displays and humour, replete with vintage glamour, in King's Cross.
Hosted by double act Rémi Martin and Spencer Novich, acrobats fly above your head, while feathers from an on-stage pillow fight fly out into the audience. A lively, cabaret-style show which doesn't take itself too seriously.
Sabrage at Lafayette. Tickets available here and here. Currently booking until December 2025.
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Step through the door of the Playhouse Theatre and into 1929-1930 Berlin at Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. It's based on musical Cabaret, which is itself based on a play, based on a novel, set at the seedy Kit Kat Club, a haunt for hedonistic nightlife, as a relationship unfolds between American writer Clifford Bradshaw and English cabaret performer Sally Bowles.
Songs performed include the title number Cabaret, as well as Willkommen, Don’t Tell Mama, Mein Herr, Maybe This Time, and Money. It's worth arriving early for your show: At every performance, nine performers take part in 'The Prologue’ throughout the building and bar areas whilst audience members arrive. A little darker than the other shows on this list, but worth seeing nonetheless.
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, currently booking until May 2026.
Hamlet at the Lyttelton Theatre
No, your English teacher didn't skip right over a burlesque section in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Track one of The Life Of A Showgirl is named The Fate of Ophelia, and the album's cover artwork depicting Swift in a bathtub — which she has said represents "the end of my night" when performing on tour — has echoes of Sir John Everett Millais' painting Ophelia, which shows the Shakespearean heroine drowning in a stream.
What we're saying is, now might be a good time to get clued up/take a refresher on the ins and outs of Hamlet, and you can do so at the National Theatre. Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera stars in a contemporary take of the story of duty, doubt, power and privilege — and the show begins just a week before TLOAS is released.
Hamlet at Lyttelton Theatre at National Theatre, 25 September-29 November 2025. See also: The Lion King, the storyline of which is based on Hamlet.
Taylor Swift The Life of a Showgirl album launch parties and events in London
Looking to celebrate the launch of TS12 in London on 3 October? We're gathering all the information we can on album parties and events where you can mark the occasion with fellow Swifties in the capital.
SWIFTOGEDDON: Our love for Taylor Swift-themed club night Swiftogeddon has never been a secret, so we're thrilled that the Taylor-loving crew are taking over the Clapham Grand for a six-hour show on launch day (3 October), playing non-stop Swift songs. That's followed by another party at EartH the following Saturday (11 October).
HEN PARTY OF A SHOWGIRL: Sad Girl Shows bring a 'hen party', listening show and craft night to Stratford on Showgirl launch day. Make bracelets, decorate tote bags and paint candles with fellow Swifties while you listen to the new album. 3 October
