King’s Theatre, Edinburgh – until 9th February.
Reviewed by James Knight
4****
The Curve and Rose Theatre Kingston’s co-production of Dr Seuss’ classic The Cat in the Hat has begun its UK tour. Most people are familiar with the story of two bored children who, home alone and stuck inside on a rainy day, are visited by the enigmatic Cat in a Hat (Nana Amoo-Gottfried). The Cat promises them all sorts of fun, but perhaps not giving full disclosure on the mayhem he can wreak. Can Sally (Melissa Lowe) and her brother (Sam Angell) return the house to normal before their mother gets back?
First off, Isla Shaw’s set looks like it has been lifted straight from the illustrations of the book itself, and when the Cat unleashes his mischievous acrobatic accomplices Thing 1 and Thing 2 (Celia Francis and Robert Penny), there’s a lot of fun to be had as they scamper up shelves and avoid falling bookcases. One drawback on opening night was a faulty door, but hopefully this should be fixed soon, and didn’t detract too much from everything happening onstage.
The performers are all highly energetic, encouraging the audience, young or old, to get involved and on their feet, and there are plenty of moments where the cast gets in amongst the stalls to add to the madness. However, the pacing at the beginning felt a little off, particularly dangerous when showing two bored children to an audience that is predominately under-10s. That said, the different set-pieces throughout were imaginative, with both Lowe and Angell showing great rapport onstage. Special mention also goes to Charley Magalit as the disapproving Fish, whose song, while perhaps overlong for the attention spans of some in the audience, was definitely impressive, even while contained within a giant bubble. Her paso doble dance-off with the Cat was also a highlight.
The Cat in the Hat is a high energy production sure to delight audience members of all ages, even with the minor technical difficulties present on press night. ‘Did I like it?’ said the reviewer, ‘Why, yes I did, I did quite a bit.’