Paradise Under The Stars | Partner Content
Picture the scene.
It’s 1958. Cuba is on the brink of revolution, but in Havana, the party is still in full swing. And at the heart of it all? The Tropicana Club – known as Cuba’s ‘Paradise Under The Stars’ – a hedonistic haven carved into the jungle, where rum flows freely, hips move faster than the band can play, and the stars above are outshone only by the ones on stage.
Where showgirls in feathered headdresses shimmer under palm fronds. Where the air is thick with music, perfume, and promise. Designed to feel like the outdoors, the Club is a theatre of dreams dressed in tropical trees and neon.
And this March, the club has been brought back to life by The Lost Estate’s new immersive Cuban Cabaret show ‘Paradise Under the Stars’, showcasing the same intoxicating magic. All thanks to The Lost Estate (the same team behind 58th Street and The Great Christmas Feast), who have pulled off a creative feat once again, meticulously building a world that feels a long way from the nearest tube; there’s palm trees galore, a fully-stocked bar, a glittering stage and the thrum of excitement builds as the Club fills up with revellers.
The Lost Estate team is really in the detail when it comes to immersive experiences. You’re greeted in Spanish as you check in at the Havana Clipper Airways desk, then you’re whisked to your table that’s set with a menu of rum-heavy cocktails including Cuban classics such as mojitos, daiquiris and of course the white-rum-coke-and-lime concoction Cuba Libre. Before long, the band takes to the stage in a flurry of white suits, sunglasses, panamas and feathered headdresses. The ensemble comprises once-in-a-generation line-up of Cuban artists including Choreographers Luanda Pau and Maikel Mota and co-musical director and Afro-Cuban trumpeter Yelfris Valdez who belts out bright, powerful notes on that punctuate the big musical numbers.
And like any Lost Estate experience, there’s food to help transport you and your tastebuds to another time and place. The Cuban feast kicks off with an El Cubano (a Cuban sandwich) with fried green plantain, yucca fries, mojo and salsa verde. Then there’s lechon Asado; a mojo Marinated pork loin with black beans ‘especial’, or croquetas con queso; cheesy little rounds served with okra and Cuban rice, finished up by Churros tropicana.
So much more than dinner and a show, this harks back to the glittering Golden Age of Cuba’s hey days told in granular and spectacular detail.
NOTE: Paradise Under The Stars Street is currently booking until 29th June 2025. Tickets start from £59.50 and can be purchased at the Paradise Under The Stars website or via their box office number: o207 129 7365.
Paradise Under The Stars | The Lost Estate, West Kensington, 9 Beaumont Ave, W14 9LP
Now your thirst is whetted for a night of dazzling drama… Check out our London theatre guide.
