Cats became the longest-running musical in the history of the West End in 1996, achieving the same status on Broadway the following year. Leo Owen catches the show during its UK tour at The Alhambra in Bradford to see what the fuss is all about …
Flashing strobe lights and slightly discordant mischievous music accompany the entrance of a series of “cats” scanning the audience as they prowl around the auditorium with green lit-up night vision eyes. This slightly pointless drawn-out intro is interrupted by the sounds of a motorbike revving and the slow appearance of different cats posing in individualistic stances against the moon-lit backdrop of a refuse dump.
Music is very 80s’ synth sounding at times and the tempo changes quickly, giving the show a jerky disjointed quality. A large ensemble cast with operatic voices sing a rather weak opening song entitled, “Jellicle Cats” that is unfortunately repeated several times during the performance. The chorus ask the very question audience members seek the answer to but fails to ever answer it (for those still unsure, a more obliging Wikipedia reveals “Jellicle Cats” comes from a corruption of “dear little cats”).
Lyrics are hard to decipher and each dirgy song runs into the next as we’re introduced to cat burglars, Rumpleteazer (Dawn Williams) and Mangojerrie (Barnaby Thompson); the cat leader, Old Deuteronomy (Nicholas Pound); Gus, the theatre cat (Paul F. Monaghan); the magical Mr Mistoffelees (Joseph Poulton); fat cat Bustopher Jones (Paul F Monaghan), comically sporting white spats and Skrimbleshanks (Ross Fonnie), the railway cat.
From random cat facts at the beginning, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s show moves onto little anecdotes about each new cat introduced, occasionally interrupted by cries of “Macavity” (Cameron Ball) accompanied by motorbike sounds. The idea of cat reincarnation tenuously acts as a thread between each cat’s story, leaving us to wonder who Old Deuteronomy will escort on their rainbow-lit ascension to the “Heaviside Layer” (a kind of cat heaven). Wrapping up a more ambitiously choreography second half with sparks flying and a rather lazy conclusion with tips on how to understand cats (“Cats are very much like you…”), the show instantly challenges audience members who prefer and expect distinct plots.
Old Deuteronomy’s affectionate introductory song is dull but still one of the most melodic while “Growl Tiger’s Last Stand” is a more lively number with eye-catching costumes. Mr Mistoffelees light-up coat attempts to detract from the show’s tedium and although the song is uninspiring it’s annoying memorable and showcases one of the show’s strongest dancers. Spangly Siamese cat costumes to rival Mistoffelees’ feature in “The Awful Battle Of The Pekes And The Pollicles” and umbrellas are creatively put to use in Skrimbleshanks’ intro.
The repeated appearance of a sad bedraggled cat called Grizabella (Alice Redmond) is what makes the show worth watching. Wearing a brown fur coat partially concealing a black sequinned dress and nursing her injuries, Grizabella sings “Memory”. Adapted from the poem “Rhapsody On A Windy Night”, it’s unsurprising the song has been recorded by so many artists since Elaine Paige first performed it in 1981. Randomly cropping up throughout the show, “Memory” is perhaps a little over done but plays the powerful voice card every time. Redmond is undoubtedly the ensemble’s strongest singer and unlike others, clearly articulates lines, giving a spine-tingling performance that gives us something to genuinely applaud.
Mixing ballet and gymnastics, Cats puts the physical agility of its cast to the test, playing out like a continuous piece of classical music accompanied by one nearly uninterrupted dance sequence, including tap moves, dual cartwheels, multiple pirouettes, splits and plenty of back-arching. A giant boot falls from above momentarily halting their flow and cast members take on multiple parts, later prancing around the stage with empty boxes on their feet and hands to represent the pollicle dogs. Unnerving blue lighting creates a shadowy effect and sections of the stage rise during the musical’s climax.
Phone lights flickered on throughout the show as equally bored and bemused audience members counted down time remaining until the interval. In 1977 when Lloyd Webber first decided to adapt one of his favourite childhood books (T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum ‘s Book Of Practical Cats, written for his Godchildren), the Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (Trevor Nunn) quite rightly expressed concern about the lack of distinguishable narrative. Cats is hard to imagine as a musical anyone would love or consider to be a favourite, perhaps attracting punters purely because of its reputation. It was Lloyd Webber’s first attempt to compose music for already existing lyrics and back in the early 80s’ would have been groundbreaking. Now, years on, without Brian Blessed playing Old Deuteronomy, Cats feels dated and its weaknesses glaringly obvious.
Cats shows at Bradford’s Alhambra between April 23-May 4 2013 before continuing its UK tour: