Apocalypse Meow, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

What do sex dolls, Styrofoam bellies, street urchins, stacked wigs, and the Nativity have in common?

Cabaret queen Meow Meow has the riotous answer. In time for the Globe’s winter season, her extravaganza Apocalypse Meow at the candle-lit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse promises to have you singing, laughing, crying, and dancing along. She returns to Shakespeare's Globe after playing an unconventional Titania in Emma Rice's uproarious take on A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2016.

An Australian-born polymath who performs multilingual cabaret and pantomime, Meow Meow delivers a wacky and wonderful rendition of the Nativity. There’s no space for pearl-clutching here. The singer portrays Mary – sitting atop a glittery inflatable donkey and sporting a less-than-convincing prosthetic baby bump – and belts songs, cracks off-colour jokes, and hollers at the audience as she rides along.

In addition to praise for her full-throated cabaret performance of songs in languages from German to Mandarin, Meow Meow has been hailed for the nuance of her humour, which combines three things in equal measure: vulgarity, cleverness, and heart.

Those who are tired of the usual Christmas pantos are invited to the Globe's Wanamaker Playhouse this winter to witness a less-than-immaculate conception.