The world premiere of a brand new musical is all the time an exciting prospect. Are you about to witness the emergence of the subsequent West End promote out – get the prospect to see it up shut earlier than that privilege prices lots of of kilos? Or will it slowly disappear into the ether and sit with many different lots of of reveals which have delighted pockets of audiences throughout the perimeter venues of London through the years. Killing the Cat is an formidable present, with daring themes together with faith, science, and a hearty dose of existential disaster. Any issues of feline hurt are…
Rating
Good
An intriguing new musical that challenges the style, taking up existential disaster and including a dose of deliciously contemporary harmonies.
The world premiere of a brand new musical is all the time an exciting prospect. Are you about to witness the emergence of the subsequent West End promote out – get the prospect to see it up shut earlier than that privilege prices lots of of kilos? Or will it slowly disappear into the ether and sit with many different lots of of reveals which have delighted pockets of audiences throughout the perimeter venues of London through the years.
Killing the Cat is an formidable present, with daring themes together with faith, science, and a hearty dose of existential disaster. Any issues of feline hurt are quickly put out of the thoughts. It centres across the extraordinarily fast-paced vacation romance between Maggie (Madalena Alberto) and Luke (Tim Rogers). One minute they’re assembly over a lettuce on a market stall in Livorno, and the subsequent they’re debating whether or not they are often collectively given their contradicting private beliefs. She’s a scientist who’s simply written a best-selling ebook in regards to the chemical reactions behind all our feelings, and he’s a devoutly spiritual man who goes up mountains to seek out enlightenment. We additionally meet Heather (Molly Lynch) and Connor (Joaquin Pedro Valdes): it’s not fairly clear what their relationship is, and Heather can see useless individuals – useless poets to be actual. There’s additionally Maggie’s sister-in-law (Kluane Saunders) who bookends the present and doesn’t appear to thoughts that her journey companion has completely deserted her. Unsurprisingly, this plot is at occasions onerous to attach with, which implies that an emotional connection to the story is difficult.
Having stated that, what saves this present is the musical rating by Joshua Schmidt. Throughout there’s a mild weaving of melody into conversations, which then grow to be tune. The harmonies are juicy, intriguing, and harking back to Jason Robert Brown, and even Sondheim at occasions. It’s not a rating that sticks within the thoughts, there’s no crowd-pleasing anthems conceivable being carried out to adoring followers at West End Live, but there’s one thing about it that grips the thoughts all through. The band are an asset to the manufacturing, positioned proper within the coronary heart of the motion on stage. The cellist, Georgia Morse, is a specific delight to observe, and her interactions with the actors really feel pure but thought-about.
The forged are spectacular, choosing moments of concord and melody out of skinny air when required. Alberto is especially spectacular, with a voice that’s overwhelming at occasions, in the very best method. And Lynch performs her quirky character with attraction, wit, and heat: she additionally stuns together with her highly effective vocals.
The staging for Killing the Cat immediately transports you from the bustling Hammersmith streets outdoors to one thing nearly otherworldly. It’s a stark white set, with stairs, packing containers, and arches which, with ingenious use of lighting, change into science labs, mountains. You nearly anticipate to see Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face stroll by way of one of many arches in her impeccable type.
It’s not all the time simple being a theatre reviewer; generally a present stays with you and leaves you stuffed with ideas and questions for a lot of days – not all the time best when you have got a deadline. Killing the Cat has executed this to me. Whilst the forged, music and set have been distinctive and splendidly difficult, the plot was not as gripping. It’s heaving with potential and given the themes, perhaps it’s OK that there’s no clear-cut solutions to a lot of my questions. After all, existential crises can’t all the time be solved in a single night.
Music by: Joshua Schmidt
Book and lyrics by: Warner Brown
Directed by: Jenny Eastop
Movement Direction by: Lucie Pankhurst
Musical Direction by: Billy Bullivant
Produced by: Mercurius Theatre, S&S Theatre Productions and Kent Nicholson
Killing The Cat performs at Riverside Studios till 22 April. Further data and bookings may be discovered right here.