Amber Topaz's Red: A Fiery Cabaret Journey at Crazy Coqs

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Amber Topaz celebrates redheaded femme fatales in a blaze of glory.

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On 24th May 2026, cabaret siren Amber Topaz will be at Crazy Coqs to bring us Red, a musical revue celebrating redheaded musical theatre stars of stage and screen. A journey from Old Hollywood via the Westend to Broadway, with iconic show-stopping numbers that have shaped musical theatre her-story.

BroadwayWorld spoke to Topaz about the show, alongside her fabulous tour dedicated to honouring femme fatale trailblazers, designed to be a spectacular review show of musical theatre joy.

Tell us a bit about you and your background Amber?

I started training as a dancer when I was a child and just loved dancing and then discovered I could sing. I started singing and dancing at dance school. I had a real passion for it and the careers officer at school, believe it or not encouraged me to audition for colleges in London, which is unusual for a working-class Yorkshire lass. I auditioned for London Studio Centre and started my training on a dance performance course, so moved to London at 17 to pursue the dream of the stage.

What first sparked the idea for Red and why did you want to celebrate redheaded stars specifically?

I saw the mini-series Fosse/Verdon in 2019 and I was just flabbergasted about Gwen Verdon 's influence on musical theatre. I didn't study the history of musical theatre, I'm not a nerd and I kind of just learn things as I go along. I didn't really know about much about her until I saw that. And obviously everyone's heard of Bob Fosse . I felt I had to celebrate her somehow. I was still a redhead, and I've been a redhead since I was a teenager. But sorry, I'm not a natural redhead. As Amber Topaz as my burlesque persona, I'd always been a redhead. I started to look at other redheads, and I'd been likened to many other redheads, Lucille Ball and Bette Midler , as I’m funny, so I felt there was something in this. I just rumbled up the idea, but it took a while to come into fruition, purely because we had the pandemic and then, you find your feet again and thought oh yes, I still want to do this. Maybe it's time to have a go at Red .

And how did you shape Red ?

As I shape acts, I choose my favourite music or song very often first. If I have a kernel of an idea, like, oh, right, this is about redheads. Who are the fabulous redheads? What fabulous songs would I like to sing? Then I look at the shape of it, build from the beginning, so I decided to move through eras. I started in the 40s and then moved right through to present day.

We choose some songs that I already sing, but mostly songs I didn't already sing. And the real sort of songs that those actresses made iconic. They're inextricably linked to the history of those songs. We decided to throw in some lesser-known gems, just to mix it up so it's not a jukebox musical where you're just singing all the greatest hits.

Can you tell us a bit more about the influence of ‘HER-story’?

HER-story means her history, from the female point of view. It’s a celebration of the powerhouses, legends, icons.

How did you choose which legendary redheads to embody?

When I’m creating a solo show, I always link it to me somehow and then it feels just a little bit more authentic with my personal stories. I've been likened to Bette Davis , Lucille Ball and Bette Midler . (In terms of casting) for a while I couldn't even be cast as a woman because I looked so young, but now I'm in my femme fatale era so I could play all these different characters now. I've gone through a character journey which is really fun to play.

What connects the red-headed performers you celebrate across eras and continents?

I connect them as an artist. While I was doing research I thought back to performing Jessica Rabbit as a burlesque artist and discovered that Jessica Rabbit was inspired by Lauren Bacall and Rita Hayworth . So, one of the first songs I open with is a Rita Hayworth number, so they all interestingly have some kind link, that's just beautiful for a thread of a show.

Which of these icons challenged you the most to portray?

To be clear, I'm not imitating, but I am celebrating. I think it's more about the song choices. There are a couple of songs and they are so wordy. It's like learning the words (with acting), such genius songwriting. I learned so many new songs for sure.

How has your collaboration with your choreographer and director Nikki Woollaston been and what elements has she brought to the show?

I have a history with Nikki as I was at London Studio Centre, one of my teachers was Stephen Mear CBE. When he was off doing West End shows, Nikki would sometimes come in and cover for him. She taught me at Studio Centre. And then, with the power of social media we connected on Facebook. Also, during lockdown, she was teaching yoga classes online and I joined these classes, so that reignited the connection. I had the idea for this show, normally I just do everything myself, you know, just doing everything on the shoestring. I usually create everything myself; there’s an opening song I wrote. I approached Nikki and she said yes straight away, which is exciting.

I'm thrilled because it was lovely to work with someone and not have everything on your shoulders. Nikki has a whole career in history and musical theatre, so she's bringing something to the table that I appreciate. I was in musicals, but I went down the cabaret route. It was nice to bridge the two worlds and have someone come in and bring all that history with them. We had such a ball, it was such fun material to research because obviously as a choreographer and director, you look into the material itself because you're bringing ideas. As I said, what amazing material. And then we just had such a brilliant time together. She's delightful, I feel very lucky.

So how are you bringing in a bit of burlesque, a bit of Vegas sparkle, a bit of Hollywood glamour? Can you tell us what to expect?

I think it's possible to bring a bit of all of that with your energy, but it's costume as well. I have very minor costume changes throughout, I add a feather boa, add a bowler hat, I add those different elements and flavour of musical theatre, and the energy of the music brings a bit of Vegas. Bette Midler was in Vegas and one of her numbers is in the show. Cabaret bridges Vegas because you've got your Vegas lounges and you've got your Vegas showgirls, and I've been a show girl/woman for over 20 years now.

What have you carried from your previous roles into this new show?

If you see yourself as a tapestry. I don't think anything you've done before cannot inform what you're doing now. I have this musical theatre background, but I didn't really choose to go down that road. I've been in a few musicals, but I chose to forge my own path. I feel my showbiz history is coming together by casting myself.

How is your focus on comic timing and vocal versatility shaping the review, given the praise you've received for both?

I just have comic timing. The trickiest thing about choosing to do the show is to do the serious songs because audiences that know me expect me to be funny, as it's what I do. It's what comes easy, so my comic timing is there as I’ve just got funny bones. I cannot not lean into comedy. I was trying to balance the versatile songs, just to show my range rather than it just being another funny saucy song or here's another funny big number. It's a bit more subtle than the big, big numbers. I’m using the skills that maybe I don't share enough, and I'm having a lovely time.

What can audiences expect from the show at Crazy Coqs, especially those seeing you live for the first time?

The room really lends itself to intimacy. I'm comfortable performing intimately, I love that connection. I've been able to see the audience and really feel the vibe. It's glamorous, fun, there'll be lots of laughs. I debuted the show there in September of last year and it was just magical. There's something about celebrating these women, but also in a way it feels like I'm celebrating my career in a beautiful room. there's nothing like live theatre. It's a buzz, it's a vibe.

How do you see Red evolving as it travels to new audiences?

Things evolve over time. Maybe there'll be some swap outs of songs. I discovered a song and put it in, which replaced another song that I was going to put in. I'd really love to perform the show with a live band with musicians. The next part of its development is having the charts written up and performing with live musicians because there's nothing like it. I'm not aiming just national, let's go international. Why not?

I'd absolutely love to take this show around the world, why not Japan? They love musicals there. But for the UK tour I’d just love people to come along and see it. If you love musicals and a bit of camp and a laugh and cabaret - it's definitely a review. I want everyone to come along.

Amber Topaz's show Red runs at The Crazy Coqs on 24 May at 7:30pm

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Interview-A-Showgirl-Is-A-Showgirl-Performer-Amber-Topaz-on-Her-Show-RED-at-Crazy-Coqs-20260520)._