cabaret

Theatrical revue traditionally combining satire and song and performed in cafés or bars. Originating in Paris in the late 19th century in venues such as the Moulin Rouge, cabaret was embraced by avant-garde writers and artists. In Germany, Berlin became a centre for an increasingly political cabaret in the 1920s, which was later suppressed by the Nazis. In Britain, satirical revue was revived by the Cambridge Footlights theatre group in Beyond the Fringe (1961), before cabaret and alternative comedy combined to provide a new generation of stand-up entertainers during the 1980s, notably from the Comedy Store group in London.