Musical Cats has not dated, still relevant, says director

Cats, a musical hit with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and based on poems by T. S. Eliot, has returned to Singapore to a full house of audience, some 34 years after its debut in London.

Jo-Anne Robinson, the director who was already a member of the team of the show in 1981, said that comments have been that the show has not dated. She thinks one of the reasons is that the musical is based on movements and physiognomy of the cat, which has not changed over millennia.

"If that stays true to form, then it won't date," she said in an interview with Xinhua while in Singapore for the ongoing season of the show.

Robinson said that the show also stays relevant even today with its representation of the different groups of people in a society. Cats is largely based on the poems of T. S. Eliot, including those in Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, which was published in 1939. Robinson is also sticking to the essence of Eliot, the often whimsical yet difficult modern poet.

"What T. S. Eliot was doing was he was searching for truth at that particular time in his life, and Old Deuteronomy is also searching for a way for his tribe to actually accept Grizabella and not to marginalize her, not push her away," she said in an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday.

The show has Grizabella, a poor and marginalized cat who was also the one chosen, as a core character.

T. S. Eliot wrote the poems about the feline psychology and sociology in letters to his godchildren. Robinson said that there has been only a limited number of major changes to the show, which tells of the imaginative tale of a tribe of Jellicle Cats gathering for the annual Jellicle Ball. They tell their stories for the amusement of Old Deuteronomy, who must choose one of the cats to be reborn into a new life.

"They say history repeats itself," Robinson said. "Every society does have this marginalized group of people. Grizabella is representing that marginalized group of people."

"That's very important for me to get that across to the cast that it is not just a song and dance show. It has a much better depth than that," she added.

The Singapore season of the show features 28 cats, performed by an international team of artists. Almost each of the cats has its allegorical name, yet actors say that the director has been very particular about them being individual cats.

"Our director Jo-Anne was very particular about that we all have to be individual cats. We all have our special characteristics. There is a lot of time going into rehearsal," said Martin Croft, an Australian actor who has been with the show for over 10 years on and off. He now plays Old Deuteronomy.

Robinson said that she tried to make actors feel relaxed in auditions so that they can be comfortable presenting the feline characters.

"We make it more of a fun audition to do. I start off saying this is not an investigation, you can either do the roles or you can't, but what we want to do is we want to see you at your best. And you can only do your best when you are really relaxed," she said. "You know if you laugh and make them laugh, that usually relaxes them, and they can then give their best."

Some of the actors have stayed with the show for quite some years. Emma Delmenico started off with the show playing Victoria and has now grown from being a kitten to being resident choreographer, "a responsible position."

Croft has also played another cat before he took on the character of Old Deuteronomy in the current production.

He said the job of Old Deuteronomy was try to make everybody in the tribe live a harmonious life together.

"All these messages are subtle, but they are all there," he said. "We have to look after each other and treat each other well. That's why it's still relevant." Endi