An audience of all ages lapped up a polished performance from The CTC as the youth theatre group brought Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit show, Cats, to the Apex for some post-Christmas feline fun.
Great costumes and make-up, clever staging and an astonishing amount of talent brought the playful Jellicle Cats to life as they gathered together for one special night of story-telling and celebration in their junkyard playground.
Never having seen the show before, I was glad to have read an outline of the story beforehand as it moves a-pace, with complicated songs and dances throughout and a dazzling array of characters for the cast to get to grips with and they did it with style.
Sam Brown shone as the coolest of cool cats, Rum Tum Tugger, with strong vocals, hypnotic hips and a good line in shoulder shimmy.
Josh Day also impressed as Skimbleshanks - not only engaging in his solo scene but also completely in character throughout, even when on the sidelines, which is the sign of a true performer.
But star of the night was undoubtedly Maia Elsey as the sad, lonely outcast Grizabella. Wow! Such a powerful, emotive voice. Her haunting rendition of Memory was worthy of a West-End star and actually gave me goosebumps. Bravo!
I am constantly impressed by the high level of blossoming talent we have here in Suffolk and this production was no exception. A strong, professional performance from a talented young cast and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
Martine Silkstone
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