Cats
- By: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Book: (Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats) T S Eliot
Director: Trevor Nunn
Design: John Napier
Duration: 165 mins |
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New London Theatre
Drury Lane, WC2B
Tube: Holborn, Covent Garden |
Performances:
Eves Mon-Sat 7.45pm
Mats Tue, Sat 3pm
UKP10.50- UKP35.00
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This show is no
longer playing in London
In Short:
Lloyd Webber tames
Eliot's feline poems.
In Full:
Seventeen years on
its feet equals success for any musical, and Cats shows few signs
of drawing in its claws. But the real achivement is Lloyd Webber's
knack of turning poetry into entertainment. Whereas verse dramatist
T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral and The Family Reunion remain
too worthy to be often staged, this version of his Old Possums
book of Cat poems has proved a long-standing crowd-pleaser.
The show is now as nostalgic
an event as the memories its whiskery stars relive, and the perfect
showcase for a rich array of talents. The venue, formerly a TV
studio, has been specially gutted to display John Napier's set
of 'Alley Cat' junk to its best advantage. Mean time tap, ballet
and jazz routines vie for our attention in such quick succession
as to turn this collection of sketches into engrossing theatre.
As the Jellicle cats perform
in the hope of winning eternal life from their leader Old Deuteronomy,
funky choreography and Webber's trademark operatic rock wooes
our sympathy. The likes of Rum Tum Tugger, Mungojerie, Mr Mistoffelees
and Grizabella interact with the audience with the gusto of at
least nine lives.
Other Critics
Pro
'Hugely successful' Time Out
Anti
'Inexplicably long lived, inane
musical which is now looking distinctly mangy. Time it was put
down.' Nick Curtis, London Evening Standard
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