Cats

Report

Author: Roger D. Buist

They came creeping, crawling, slinking, and sneaking, on to the stage and we were made aware that we were being transported to the Kingdom of Cats as they celebrated the Jellicle Ball and made their choice for the Cat to journey to the Heavyside Layer. This was another group of the Society’s large youth section and, I’m told they were 16 years and under and, crikey, the performances I saw were totally outstanding. We had dancing cats, tap dancing cats, acrobatic cats, and I was amazed at the young talent which unfolded before me on the stage. They all appeared in a stage set which was both a mysterious and magical dump, and their cat face stage make-up was absolutely tremendous which made them truly look like real cats! They behaved like cats and, throughout the performance, they kept preening themselves – so much so, that they had me scratching my ears along with them! For people so young, each had tremendous powerful voices and their ability to move “catlike” around the stage was a joy to watch. Each and every youngster, whether playing a principal role or not, deserves the highest praise for their performance. There was Mungo Jerrie (Zac Brownlow) and Rumpleteaser (Catie Riding); a nimble Skimbleshanks from Nathan Brown; Grizzabella (Rebecca Ross) was the cat with the famous “Memory” song; Mark Curran’s Mr Mistoffeles with his dazzling coat of lights; and Robbie Lamond’s guitar playing Rum Tum Tugger to name but a few. To all the other Cat characters, my sincere apologies, but lack of space stops me from mentioning you but, be assured, each and every one of you were equally marvellous in your Cat roles – and all credit to you. Cats, your energy and agility, and singing and acting talents impressed me very much. To sum up – kids, you were absolutely purr-fect!