A feline fantasy: CATS the musical.

There's something not quite right about humans dressing up as cats. They always seem to make a poor effort. Some black clothing, a little black nose and a few small whiskers. This was not the case last night however.

I had never seen CATS before, but I had heard somewhat mixed reviews about it, yet the Senior Youth Theatre at Alnwick Playhouse did not disappoint.

Walking into the auditorium was quite a shock. Some of the cast were already in character prowling around. One even came up and hissed at us as we walked in to find our seats!

What amazed me was that they managed to stay in character the whole time. With one 'cat' staying in character whilst one audience member tickled their neck- it was rather surreal.

The cast of CATS.

If I'm being completely honest, before seeing the show I didn't understand the story line at all, and even afterwards I still wasn't 100% on what I had just been watching. All I took away from it was that Deuteronomy disappeared and then reappeared, they all hated Grizabella the 'one time glamour cat', and she was the one chosen to be reborn. A rather confusing story line if you could call it a story line at all.

With all of that put aside, it was still an amazing show; a real visual treat. The set was as if it was a back alley, with dustbins, old tyres and old boards. Somewhere you could really imagine alley cats roaming about.

The costumes were even better, and in my personal opinion, the best costumes the Youth Theatre has ever had. Not only did they have the catsuits with tails and spray painted to make them look like real cats, they had individual face paints to give each of their cats a unique character. The makeup and costume department really did go all out.

Becca Gray, Emily Hope and Emily Pearse were a great trio as Bombalurina, Jellylorum and Demeter,  staying in character throughout, and their harmonies were top notch, in one song reminding me of Christina Aguilera's Candy Man.

Arthur Mills as Mungojerrie and Catherine Walker as Rumpleteaser really did light up the stage with the comedy duo act, and their realistic east London accents fit the part well. Their character on stage left the audience smiling and laughing throughout their scenes.

Anna Tucker was flawless as Grizabella, and her rendition of Memory, about her wish to start a new life sent shivers down my spine as she hit the high notes with ease. Definitely someone to watch out for in the future. A British Taylor Swift perhaps?

Obviously I have to mention charismatic tom cat Rum Tum Tugger,  executed effortlessly by Toby Hope, who left the audience wanting more of his, tail shaking and swagger. Hope stood out as one of the strongest members of the cast with his stage presence alone.

Others who stood out were Lexy Bee for her incredible dancing and Chris Richardson for his delightful singing voice.

Of course it would be rude to not mention the rest of the cast, who were all fantastic. Their mannerisms really  did make you believe they were actual cats. They had even perfected the little things such as the way their turn their head, and the way they would stretch, it really was interesting to watch them all.

Not every single dance move and note was hit exactly, but hey, that is just me being extremely critical. Considering this show was put together on one rehearsal per week alone, by an amateur group,  it was near professional standard.

A massive hats off to director Cheryl Stewart for managing to pull off such a challenging production- the hard work really payed off! Visually their best production yet.

I'm now off to repeat the same line of Mister Mistoffelees over and over whilst I practice trying to walk with  a bit more grace.

© Photographs by Amber Brown and Helen Ellis