MickeyJoTheatre Podcast

Episode: Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney (Cabaret, Hadestown) – INTERVIEW
Date: December 29, 2025
Host: MickeyJoTheatre
Guests: Eva Noblezada & Reeve Carney

Episode Overview

In this lively, in-depth interview hosted from the dressing room of London’s KitKat Club, MickeyJoTheatre sits down with Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney—married in real life and starring as Sally Bowles and the Emcee in the current acclaimed West End production of Cabaret. The conversation explores the unique energy they bring to the show as a couple, the differences between Cabaret in London and Broadway, their personal and professional journeys, and reflections on Hadestown, Gatsby, and what it means to share both their lives and the stage.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Playing Together As a Married Couple

• Unique Experience: Reeve and Eva reflect on the rarity and specialness of coming back to Cabaret married, after both appearing individually in various productions.
  • "I don't know how often it's happened that an engaged couple does a show, goes away to get married and then comes back as a married couple doing the same show." — Reeve Carney (01:37)
• Did Marriage Change Their Performances?
  • Eva acknowledges feeling changed for the better but isn't sure how much their offstage dynamic seeps into their performances. They note that some inside jokes resonate more with audiences post-marriage (02:03).

2. Onstage Dynamics & Improvisation

• Hadestown Echos & Improv in Cabaret:
  • Reeve discusses the improvisational freedom encouraged in the KitKat Club production—sometimes his ad libs went too far, but the team guided him to maintain structure while personalizing his MC (03:12).
  • "They encourage a lot of improvisation and then they kind of pull you back when it's a little too far... They let you know, different MCs bring whatever they have in their mind." — Reeve Carney (03:12)

3. How Did This Joint Casting Happen?

• Manifesting the Dream:
  • Both had been hoping for years to appear together in Cabaret. A friend and producer had once suggested it, and the timing finally aligned (04:41).
  • "We were definitely putting it in the ether for like years." — Eva Noblezada (04:41)

4. West End vs. Broadway: Differences in Cabaret

• Intimacy of the KitKat Club:
  • Eva compares the intimacy of the London space with the “abyss” of the larger Broadway theatre, emphasizing how the immersive venue suits Cabaret better and allows for bolder, more personal performances (05:58).
  • "This is much smaller, but more intimate, which I think suits the show way better, in my opinion." — Eva Noblezada (06:11)

5. Balancing Personal and Stage Lives

• Passing Each Other in the Night:
  • Despite being leads in the same show, they spend little time together on stage, which is a sharp contrast to their roles in Hadestown (08:05).
  • "We're just so, like, you're either in these amazing costumes and, like, being dark or, you know, we're just in completely different scenes, completely different headspaces." — Eva Noblezada (07:39)
• Collaboration with the Audience:
  • Both appreciate the show’s demand for presence and collaboration with both each other and the audience energy (09:12).

6. Reflecting on "Hadestown" and Theatrical Journeys

• First Night Memories:
  • Returning to the West End for Hadestown was electric; audiences gave “rock concert energy” (11:24).
  • "It was almost like that every night here for that particular run, it felt like an opening night or someone's last show." — Reeve Carney (11:43)
• On Evolving Shows:
  • Both note how shows—and their own performances—are transformed by new casts and creative teams, keeping each production unique (12:39, 14:28).

7. The Craft and Challenges of Sally Bowles

• Returning To Where It Started:
  • Eva reflects on her early days in London theatre, acknowledging how much she’s grown and how formative her time has been (16:38).
  • "Being able to say that it's my job and falling in love with it even more throughout every job that I do... and also like being able to work with my best friend and my husband is like. It adds just layers of just juiciness and it's just. It feels really heavenly at this point." — Eva Noblezada (16:38)
• Channeling Real Emotions Into Performance:
  • She discusses how playing Sally Bowles lets her transform her own anxieties and frustrations into art. The physical style of the show (performed in-the-round) invites a new technical discipline and sense of accomplishment (16:38, 27:39).

8. Sharing Multiple Projects and Artistic Future

• Addictive Collaboration:
  • Eva and Reeve both express a desire to keep finding projects together, valuing both the personal and artistic fulfilment (20:23).
  • "There's no beating this." — Eva Noblezada (20:23)
  • "No, if Eva's in it and, you know, same." — Reeve Carney (21:01)
• Performance Rituals:
  • They describe their post-show routine: long, detail-obsessed movie nights, pausing to discuss every creative element—a glimpse into their shared passion for art (21:06).

9. Discussing "Gatsby" and Musical Preferences

• Returning to "Gatsby"?
  • Both loved their time in Gatsby and fantasize about revisiting it together (22:06). Eva asserts a particular favorite song, “For Her”, and the particular thrill of singing with a live orchestra (23:03).
  • "The energy of a pit. It's like it, like, trembles. The earth trembles. That's fantastic." — Eva Noblezada (23:27)

10. Cherishing the Final Weeks in Cabaret

• What They’ll Miss:
  • For Reeve, the unique intimacy of the London production—the ability to connect directly, eye-to-eye with audience members every night—is singular (24:41, 25:24).
  • "Everywhere I look, I can make a connection with someone in a truthful way, and it will probably inspire my performance on any given night." — Reeve Carney (25:24)
• Physical Comedy and Personal Touches:
  • They highlight how small personal gestures—even a cheeky butt-slap—have found their way from their real life into the show (26:09).

11. Technical Challenges and Acting Craft

• Balancing Technique and Emotion:
  • Eva walks through layering character essence over technical requirements, especially when the staging demands stillness—“less is more” in this space (27:39).
  • She reveals she pictures a tiny director-self in the audience, continually self-critiquing to improve reach and subtlety.

12. What’s Next?

• Concerts & Future Projects:
  • They discuss which Cabaret songs might enter their concert rotation and joke about ways to reinvent “Money” and “Married” for concerts or future productions (30:00).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Doing Cabaret After Marriage
  "Maybe, I mean I definitely feel like I've changed, like obviously for the better."
  — Eva Noblezada (02:03)

• On the Creative Freedom in the West End Production
  "They encourage a lot of improvisation and then they kind of pull you back when it's a little too far."
  — Reeve Carney (03:12)

• On Audience Collaboration
  "The audience... is a part of the story. Like their energy is... an evolving factor. It's... part of the alchemy of it."
  — Eva Noblezada (09:12)

• On Recapturing Theatre’s Magic Post-Pandemic
  "It was like similar energy to our first show back from the Pandemic of like, thank God that theater is here and we're in it."
  — Eva Noblezada (11:58)

• On Artistic Partnership
  "There's no beating this."
  — Eva Noblezada (20:23)

• On Cherishing the KitKat Club
  "Everywhere I look, I can make a connection with someone in a truthful way, and it will probably inspire my performance on any given night."
  — Reeve Carney (25:24)

• On Bringing Real-Life Playfulness to the Stage
  "The butt move we took from our real life because we sometimes do that on the street to make people laugh."
  — Reeve Carney (26:24)

• On the Challenge of Performing in the Round
  "It's always kind of floating around, like, to make sure, like, oh, I'm out of light...But after doing it so many times, I think, like, you just find a way to, like...in that moment I can look down and, like, place my feet and, like, no one will ever know."
  — Eva Noblezada (27:39)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:37] – Returning as a married couple to Cabaret: initial impressions.
• [02:03] – On the effect of marriage and inside jokes in the show.
• [03:12] – Reeve on improvisation and creative freedom.
• [04:41] – How performing together came to fruition.
• [05:58] – Contrasts between Broadway and West End settings.
• [09:12] – The role of audience energy in shaping performances.
• [11:24] – Reflections on returning to the West End with Hadestown.
• [16:38] – Eva’s journey from her London debut to today.
• [20:23] – Artistic partnership—plans and hopes for more joint projects.
• [22:06] – Discussing Gatsby and favorite musical moments.
• [24:41] – What they’ll cherish most about the show and each other.
• [27:39] – Technical challenges of performing Sally Bowles in the round.
• [30:00] – Future plans: which songs in concert rotation?

Final Thoughts

This episode is a colorful, affectionate portrait of two top-tier theatre performers at work and in life, balancing technical brilliance, personal creativity, and deep partnership onstage and off. Whether discussing backstage rituals, stagecraft minutiae, or the ongoing evolution of major musicals, Eva and Reeve radiate passion, humor, and a love for theatre that makes this conversation both richly insightful and heartwarming for fans and newcomers alike.