Jellicle cats are back on the prowl … and I’m feline fine
Cats are prowling the stage of QPAC’s Lyric Theatre, giving patrons paws for thought to remember the stage musical classic’s first outing here 40 years ago.
Cats are very much interwoven into human culture. Ancient Egyptians worshipped them. In Istanbul, street cats are regarded as community pets. Japan has a dozen cat islands where the animal population is bigger than the human – and there are hundreds of cat cafes there.
Love or loathe them these creatures have had plenty of famous champions including Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, Freddie Mercury, Audrey Hepburn, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and, of course, the poet T.S. Eliot who penned Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, a collection of light rhymes written for his godchildren in the 1930s.
These tongue-in-cheek verses inspired Andrew Lloyd Webber to write Cats, the musical, which debuted in 1981. And now Cats has returned to Brisbane for a shortish season.
Sunday’s opening night was a high-energy performance as the stage of QPAC’s Lyric Theatre hummed with a large and hugely talented cast.
This production of Cats is in a revue format while also fitting into the category of concept musical. Directed by Trevor Nunn, the show is a significant dance drama. The lyrics are powered by performers who deliver the epitome of feline slink with an abundance of grace, hissing and arched backs – all while delivering impeccably rehearsed and detailed routines of cut-glass precision.
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Amy Berrisford deserves an accolade for her contribution to the evocative choreography. She also covered Olivia Carniato’s role of Demeter.
Be warned, though, as Cats doesn’t have much of a story. It’s more a series of episodic caricatures who belong to Jellicles, a tribe of felines gathered at the annual Jellicle Ball. The moggies include Jellylorum (Lucy Maunder), Jennyanydots (Leigh Archer) and Rumpleteazer (Savannah Lind). Each of the Jellicles are contenders for the Heaviside Layer, otherwise known as cat heaven, where they are reincarnated.
The impressive nine-strong orchestra directed by Paul White inhabited every riff and hook, teary moments, colour and nuanced emphases with convincing execution. The synchronisation between the instrumentalists and the cast is spot on, despite many tricky stops, starts and fleeting silences. The music dovetailed superbly with each song fragment or dramatic lighting device.
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Highlights include the representation of Grizabella (Gabriyel Thomas), the aged and bedraggled glamour puss, who walks with stealth and a heavy paw. Her take on Memory, the blockbuster hit song, is satisfyingly rich and bluesy. Wind players Karen Corkeron and Diana Tolmie added to the heartfelt sentiment.
Mark Vincent’s singing of Old Deuteronomy is brilliant. Des Flanagan steals the show with a raunchy and wildly athletic incarnation of Rum Tum Tugger’s perversity. Tim Haskayne’s moves as Mr Mistoffelees are stunning, involving multiple rounds of pirouettes and spins worthy of any ballet company.
Todd Mckenney’s frail and aged Asparagus tugs at the heart strings in reminiscing about his past triumphs as a thespian cat.
The scenery of grunge and tat, an old bedframe, shoe boxes, rags, a bicycle wheel, rusted white goods and a wrecked car bonnet makes a plausible cat hideout.
The costumes for the calico, marmalade, tiger-striped and shaggy coated cats are also colourful and busy and, to be critical, may not contrast sufficiently with the arguably overworked backdrop because the stage is mostly brimming with cast. Still, to be fair, there’s plenty of interest to capture the eye.
This energised production is full of theatrical surprises, skill, conviction and exhilarating moves. The drama spirals convincingly to a climactic end. Not-to-be-missed entertainment.
Cats plays the Lyric Theatre, QPAC, until February 22.
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