By Dolly Brennan
An enthusiastic audience watched the opening show of Cats and was provided with a fantastic show full of energy and enthusiasm from a cast of fine young cats who sang and danced their hearts out.
The storyline is a simple one – a tribe of cats called The Jellicle Cats hold an annual ball at which one cat is selected to ascend to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn into a different Jellicle life.
The audience is introduced to many types of cats as the members of the tribe sing and dance in the hope of being selected for rebirth. The songs are based on the poetry of TS Elliot set to music composed by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Bombalurina (Lauren Loghry) and Demeter (Michaela Carruthers) shone with their wonderful singing and dancing. They impressively kept up their energy for the whole show and kept the momentum of the show flowing.
There was also wonderful singing from Grizzabella (Sophie McCarlie) and Deuteronomy/Bustopher Jones (Ben Thomas).
Highlights included the beautiful rendition of ‘Memory’ (Sophie McCarlie), and ‘Mr Mistoffelees’ (Madeline Bethwaite) with a little bit of crowd-pleasing magic thrown in. Jemima/Victoria (Sophia Eagle) danced beautifully.
A strong chorus of cats and kittens ably supported the talented main characters. Special mention goes to the tiniest kitten, Nila Carruthers (aged two).
The songs of Cats are vocally challenging. At times, the chorus hesitated at the beginning of the lines of their songs, but this is sure to improve as their confidence grows.
The mood of this fun show was assisted by excellent direction (Richard Carruthers) and musical direction (Melanie Carruthers), beautiful choreography (Lauren Loghry), and lovely feline costuming (lead by Leah Kerr) and makeup (lead by Di Molineux).
A thoroughly enjoyable and recommended show.
Nelson Youth Theatre Company's Cats is running at the Theatre Royal Nelson till July 16, tickets can be purchased here.
