Arcola theatre, London
While the costumes are delightful and the characters cheekily drawn, the full epic potential for this cabaret is never fully realised

Welcome to the monstrous cabaret, where the women outsmarted by Odysseus seethe and sing. The Arcola’s basement studio serves as our vengeful trio’s glitter-filled underground cavern. Charybdis, Siren and Scylla take turns performing their stories, gnashing their teeth for fresh blood. “We used to kill,” they croon, “now we cabaret.”

Some of Ismini Papaioannou’s costumes are delightful, with Siren’s white ruff and crinoline cage echoing her charming character and the rich voice of Jazz Jenkins. Our preening host, Charybdis (Hannah van der Westhuysen), is full of mirth and smirking rage, dressed in layers of sea-swirling iridescence. Scylla (Kate Newman), the show’s resident furry, sheds over the carpet and has a coat and matching nipple-tassels made of tattered human hair.