Last week, I saw the touring production of 'Cats' the musical at The Mayflower theatre in Southampton. Thoughts? It was utterly fantastic. If you can go, you must, if only to see Mr Mistofeles fireworks and acrobatics. I've spent a lot of this year in small theatres watching serious plays that comment poignantly on our society and existence, so I was glad to see a little light relief. That is, of course, if you choose to ignore the significance of the Modernist movement in T.S Eliot's poetry, namely, in the rebirth of Grizabella the Glamour Cat. But, what I enjoy most about Musical Theatre is that you don't have to get on board with all of the political messages and historical references to be able to enjoy the show. A couple of years back, I saw 'Blood and Gifts' by J.T Rogers at the National Theatre and to this day, I'm not sure I could really tell you what the play was about. I remember that the acting and the scenery were impressive, but the story was too relevant to important issues that I was too young to actually follow for me to understand the play. With a musical, however, you have flashing lights and fun songs to ensure everyone has a lovely time, whether they've read today's newspaper or not.
In the middle of the production is an 8-minute long dance number - the Jellicle Ball - that I was entirely content to simply sit back and marvel at. The capabilities of the dancers - most notably the clean cut brilliance of Melissa James and the effortless grace of Alicia Beck - was enough to make me gasp and twitch in my seat. In my humble opinion, I believe 'Cats' to be the most challenging musical there is for a performer to adapt themselves to. To perform it well, as the current touring company do, requires unrivalled skills as a dancer, a tremendously strong voice, and, obviously, the ability to act believably as a cat. Credit goes to Jessica Buckby's performance here, for when she prowled onto the stage, out of the corner of my eye I genuinely believed a small animal had appeared. The voices of both Joanna Ampil as Grizabella and Ben Palmer as Munkustrap were stunning, and for Mungojerry and Rumpelteaser (Barnaby Thompson and Katie Warsop) to perform their title number, cartwheeling around each other and still hitting the back wall with their voices, was incredible. The technical capabilities of the performers is what makes the show because let's face it, the storyline lacks the real drive that pins an audience to their seat. An audience is instead gripped by the characters, the exciting choreography and the musical numbers we all know and enjoy, but appear to us fresher and brighter than they do on any recording.
My main point of interest is and still will be important, hard-hitting plays in dusty theatres. But I do love a good musical. It's like the nice little dream you have in sleep before waking up to reality. Of course, many musicals do comment on important social issues, but they're covered in enough glitter and joy to maintain that blissful illusion. Musicals have their place, dominating the West End and Broadway stages as they do, and for simply keeping audiences happy and clapping I believe they are just as important as the zeitgeist plays that beg their audience to think on what they have seen beyond the auditorium.
Now, if only I could get "Jellicle songs for Jellicle cats" out of my head, I might get back to some of those real issues...
