Dr. Seuss books are a firm favourite in our house and we purchased the whole collection of books when Matilda was just two years old. Nearly four years later and we still love the nonsensical and quite frankly kooky stories. The Cat in the Hat production at Birmingham Repertory Theatre is no different to the books; quirky, eccentric and very amusing.
It is a wondrous production full of magic, circus skills and water pistols. One of those shows that you go to as a child and never forget.
The girls absolutely loved it and gave it a double thumbs up. Even me and hubby were fond fans.
For those who do not know the story. It is about a young girl, Sally, and her younger brother who are home alone on a cold cold wet day, bored whilst their mum is at work. Suddenly the trouble-making Cat in the Hat arrives. And an adventure filled day commences.
Melissa Lowe who plays Sally and Sam Angell (the Boy) played their roles fantastically. Energetic, upbeat and able to not only capture the attention of the children in the audience but the adult audience too. They (nearly) everyone on their feet, dancing and singing.
Towards the start of the show there was a stage mistake which saw a glass jar smash. As audience members, Melissa’s amazing ability to carry on as normal meant we just thought it was a part of the show, until a member of the stage production came out to apologise and tell us that they needed to clean up and the curtain came down and the lights went on. Five minutes later after the glass was cleaned up and it was safe for the cast to go back on stage, the curtain went up and the scene was redone. Performed perfectly, an unfazed Melissa Lowe, carried on with the show like a true pro.
Tasha Taylor Johnsons songs are fun, entertaining and catchy enough to get all of the audience singing along and taking part. A perfect accompaniment to the story of The Cat in the Hat. And the stage design by Isla Shaw was just magical.
A familiar face of Nana Amoo-Gottfried played the role of the Cat in the Hat. If you’re a Doctor Who fan, you might also recognise him too. The assertive and cheekiness of the Cat in the Hat was performed incredibly well by Nana. And his ability to balance on top of the ball for such a large amount of time was very good. You could tell that this production had been created in association with the National Centre for Circus Arts. As we saw some phenomenal circus skills.
Thing 1 (Celia Francis) and Thing 2 (Robert Penny) were incredibly talented with their circus abilities. But then I’m not surprised, the programme told me that Celia is a three time British Team Gymnastics Gold Medalist and Robert is a former 2 time British Champion in Gymnastics.
This show is filled with a very talented cast.
My favourite cast member was Charley Magalit who played the fish in the bowl. An amazing operatic voice, bringing more adult based humour and eccentricness into the show, she made me smile lots.
I won’t spoil the whole show for you, but expect bubbles, water and lots of incredible circus skills.
The Cat in the Hat is at Birmingham Rep until Sunday 3rd March 2019. Tickets start from £15 each and are available from here.
Production time is approximately 90 minutes long which includes a 20 minute interval where you can get yummy ice-cream if you bring some change.
Disclaimer: We were invited along to the press launch which we obviously jumped at the opportunity of. All views are our own and an honest review is given.
Photographs by Manuel Harlan