Hit Musical 'Cats' comes to Dublin
Based on TS Eliot’s delightful creation for children, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking adaptation is directed by Trevor Nunn, with choreography by Gillian Lynne and set and costume design by John Napier. It first opened in the West End way back in 1981 — that’s an unbelievable 34 years ago — and then, with the same creative team, on Broadway in 1982.
It has won numerous awards, including Best Musical at both the Laurence Olivier and the Tony Awards. The London production ran for 21 years, and the Broadway show for 18, both setting records. It’s a spectacular example of what can be done when a composer/creator of vision (in this case, Andrew Lloyd Webber) decides to take an old classic and recreate it for a new audience.
He did the same with an almost-forgotten 19th century French novel by Gaston Leroux, concerning a ghostly figure which haunted the Paris Opera House, and look where that went, Whether you’ve seen it just once or many times, whether you know all the songs by heart or just Memories, Cats is a magical musical that brings out the child in all of us. Music, dance and verse fuse together in an enchanting blend of fantasy, drama and romance.
And, like Phantom, it has become a worldwide musical phenomenon. To date Cats has been seen by over 50 million people, played in over 300 cities in 26 countries, and been performed in at least 10 different languages. It has made the careers of many of today’s stars, including Elaine Page, the first Grizabella, Wayne Sleep, Bonnie Langford, Paul Nicholas, Brian Blessed, Rosemarie Ford, and indeed Sarah Brightman. (It was during that first run of Cats in 1981 that Andrew Lloyd Webber first laid eyes on the girl who was to become his wife and create the role of Christine in Phantom).
Now, due to sheer public demand, Cats is on the road again, in a new tour, which began at the Edinburgh Playhouse in February and has since been on the move across Britain and Europe. Recreating the direction and choreography for the tour is Chrissie Cartwright, ensuring all of Lloyd Webber’s wonderful score, spectacular set design, extraordinary costumes, and stunning choreography, are as vivid as ever.
It was recently announced that Irish musical theatre star Susan McFadden will join the cast in Dublin, in the iconic role of Grizabella. McFadden, you will recall, was the winner of the ITV reality show Grease is the Word and was cast as Sandy in the West End production of Grease. With numerous roles on stage and TV to her credit since then, she has been touring internationally with the hugely successful Celtic Women.
“I am thrilled to be playing Grizabella in Cats ,” she says. “And of course I’m very excited to be returning to Dublin to perform at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre for the first time.”
Currently the show is playing to packed houses in Ostend, but tour company director Stephen Diamond is already preparing for the journey to Dublin. His job is to make sure everything happens in the right place at the right time. Cast, schedules, problems, crises — he has his hands full. Fortunately, with over 20 years experience on touring shows, including stints with Cats, he’s fairly unflappable when faced with challenges that would reduce anyone else to sheer panic.
He admits, though, his biggest worry is always injury. “We have six ‘swings’ (standby cats) in the wings. They do backing vocals when they are not needed, but when the call comes — and it can come at any time — they have to be able to leap onstage at a moment’s notice. Usually the audience doesn’t realise a crisis has occurred and been dealt with, all in the space of a few minutes.”
Naturally enough, he says, they would prefer injuries didn’t happen, “but with an all-singing, all-dancing show, it does, and more frequently than we would like it to, so we have to be prepared.”
When they hit a new town his first concern is to locate the A&E, “because I know from experience I will always end up there with somebody injured. By this time I know every casualty department at every venue.”
Stephen keeps an eye on his entire cast and crew, knowing exactly where everybody is. “I’m counsellor, advisor, and comforter too of course. A lot of the younger ones have come straight from college and find it all a bit strange and lonely.” On a long tour, he says, they become like a family, “because you are all together, day in, day out, relationships are formed, and it always seems like it will never end. It’s a shock for everybody when the tour is over.”
On the final night of a show, they start breaking down as soon as the audience has left. The crew work all night and load the trucks. “It takes about eight hours to do the get-out. When we are doing a mainland tour I will let the cast make their own way to the next venue, but on the continent we take care of their transport. If we are flying, then I try to ensure that all the cast are on the same flight with me. We can’t afford to discover that someone is missing when we reach our destination.”
Once at the new venue, he puts in a long day, “because we have to time things and then at about 4pm people are arriving to do the technical checks and the cast are in by 5pm for make up and warm up.”
Once the show starts, he says, he can sit back and relax to watch the performance. “But then I see someone slip onstage and I’m out of my seat and backstage immediately.”
- CATS, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, Aug 21-Sept 7.
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