Andrew Lloyd Webber's feline musical Cats has returned to Manchester's Palace Theatre in a revival directed by Drew McOnie, and while the production dazzles with its choreography and vocals, the elusive storyline may leave first-time audiences wanting.
Based on T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, the iconic West End hit is now 35 years old and has had far more than nine lives over its many productions. The question is whether McOnie's revival lives up to the hype as the four-legged friends take to the stage.
A Night at the Jellicle Ball
Slinking out of the shadows and weighing up the audience in the way only cats can, the head honchos of the eclectic feline bunch are introduced one by one as they gather for their annual celebration at the Jellicle Ball. Fading beauty Grizabella's melancholy glamour is a nice counterpoint to the rockstar swagger of the cocksure Rum Tum Tugger, with Jaydon Vijn a natural in the role.
Elliot Broadfoot's Bustopher Jones - the fat cat who got the cream, or the shrimp anyway - adds a saucer-ful of comedy with his tales of gadding about town, while Dianté Lodge's mysterious Macavity entertains with his criminal misdeeds, for which he can never be pinned down. Intriguing though this feline is, the song dedicated to him is too long, making a cat nap seem rather tempting.
Standout Performances and Visuals
The choreography, brought to life with great skill by the entire cast, and the vocals are as good as you'd hope, with two stand-out highlights of the night. The first is the Magical Mr Mistoffelees' dance solo, where he spins on his head among a series of other moves that the talented Jet Yau makes look effortless, but which certainly aren't.
The vocal magic prize of the night goes to Rachel Wooding as Grizabella, and her rendition of the iconic song Memory, which is perfectly paced with just the right amounts of light and shade, making for a goosebumps moment.
The costumes are fun too, ranging from skintight catsuits in varying colours and prints, to the more outlandish glittery get-ups of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, and Skimbleshanks, the ginger tabby 'Railway Cat', who ensures the mail trains run on time. The only issue is the cats' tails, way too thin and long, and more like those of rats, with a tinge of the phallic about them too.
A Story as Elusive as Macavity
The only issue is the story, which seems to be as hard to find as the elusive Macavity. A blink-and-you'll-miss-it mention is made at the start of the leader of the Jellicle tribe, Old Deuteronomy, choosing which cat will win the prize of rebirth via ascending to the 'Heaviside layer', but this isn't referred to again until three quarters of the way through the show. This may not be an issue for CATS devotees, but anyone seeing the musical for the first time might find this frustrating.
Old Deuteronomy, played by Alisha Amaris, is dressed in a coat of what looks like torn up pages of yellowing old books, and, amusingly, gives off less of a wise old cat vibe, and more an attitude akin to TV comedian Harry Enfield's character Waynetta Slob: "I am smoking a faaaag".
The set, with its dramatic Jellicle moon under which all the action takes place, is simple but effective, and the music is punchy and varied. The cast can't be faulted for their performance, but the almost total lack of storytelling means this production is unlikely to be catnip for first-time audiences, and maybe even some who've seen it before.
