Wednesdy 25th September, 2025

A cat will think nothing of ignoring you as you pass it, but Cats cannot be neglected on the program of the average or the enthusiastic theatregoer. One might ask, Why pay to see the same show twice? Why hear the same songs played in the same way, sung in the same way, when I could bring up the playlist on Spotify, or You Tube? I believe the Artistic Director had the sentiment of the modern viewer in mind when creating this season’s show, the 40th anniversary playing of the show in Australia.

The perfect balance of tradition (ahem, copyright) and innovation, or rather, immersion, was struck in this run, albeit with some rusty dance performances.

Stop reading now if you don’t want to hear about the enhancements made for this season’s run that ensured a fresh new way of experiencing Cats the Musical…

The usual excitement was garnered when the lights went down and the iconic yellow cat’s eyes began to glow one by one on the stage. And in the aisles you say? That’s right, in slunk the cast through the auditorium, eyes aglow, prowling and hissing coyly as they made their way down the aisles and up onto the stage. It was just the beginning, with the cast to reappear in the audience at least another three times as part of the performance, purring and threatening to rub the audience up just the right way.

The introduction of the cast made an immediate connection which almost made up for the sloppy timing of the ensemble, with variability in technical prowess of the cast. Special mentions to Victoria (Claudia Hastings) who was balletically stunning.

The set also seemed identical to the original West End production, but the emergence of a ‘train’ from the pieces of junk during Skimbleshanks was a surprising delight, and a pleasantly reminiscent nod to a local theatre-type stunt and the only major interaction with the junkyard set other than a slightly failed trapeze highlight and some crouching at higher levels.

Mysteriously, Old Deuteronomy remained on stage for intermission. Was the costume so heavy that he couldn’t move without assistance?! It was soon revealed that members of the audience could be invited on stage for a photograph. What was most amazing however was, how Mark Vincent was able to belt out such a powerful solo to open the second half, without a chance to keep the vocal cords warm or gills supple.

Macavity’s mysterious appearance from the audience, seemingly teleporting from auditorium left, to auditorium right, to stage left reminded us that the immersion in a musical masterpiece was not over. Electrical explosions on stage come from seemingly nowhere as a climax to his obtrusive presence and propel what we know and accept is an extremely loose narrative.

A personal favourite, Grizabella (Gabriyel Thomas) built the show’s tension; she conveyed her sense of melancholy with subtle rather than overdone use of mime and gesture, and presence with a capital P. Her performance of Memory evoked all of the emotions, powerful key changes and a fitting modern-day exit to the heavyside layer via aerial rigging.

The show being almost one continuous dance sequence, I appreciated the sustenance of characterisation of the cast, playfully light footed and heads and limbs flickering with feline excitement, but the dance numbers looked like they needed more practice.

I had wondered why at the beginning of the show, care was taken to announce that the cast was performing to a live orchestra, but when the first note was struck, I knew why. The sound was perfection. I would pay for another ticket just to close my eyes and listen to the faultless execution of such a complicated score that must be exhausting to perform.

Cats was once brought to life again, and with many lives still yet to be lived (9 in total?), I can only hope I get the opportunity to see it many more times in my singular lifetime, only with a tighter ensemble performance.