Teatro

CATS

/ antakalipa

CATS

At the Teatro to watch a show about Cats. Cats are everywhere, fur naturalistic, fantastic make-up, the performers stayed in role the whole time. They were cats, inquisitive, sensual and alluring without meaning to. 

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats is built on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, a collection of poems that already resist conventional narrative. Webber doesn’t “adapt” them into a linear story—he creates a ritual. What you’re watching is less a plot-driven musical and more a ceremonial gathering: the Jellicle Ball.

Once a year, the Jellicle cats assemble to present themselves—body, memory, instinct, desire—so that one may be chosen to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn. That’s it. No villain, no quest, no romance arc. The drama is existential.

And that’s where cats become not just a choice, but the only possible choice.

Why cats? Why not people?

Cats exist in a perfect symbolic middle-ground:

They live with humans but are never owned by us in spirit.

They are domestic but untamed.

They are sensual without apology.

They are ancient, ritualistic, observant, and indifferent to morality.

In mythology and psychology, cats are liminal creatures—they cross thresholds. Think:

Egypt: cats as divine guardians (Bastet)

Folklore: witches’ familiars

Jungian symbolism: intuition, shadow, feminine power, erotic mystery

Humans on stage are burdened with social codes. Cats are not. By making the performers cats, Webber removes:

shame

realism

everyday morality

What’s left is pure archetype expressed through the body.

The archetypes on stage

Each Jellicle cat is not a “character” in the naturalistic sense—they are aspects of being:

Grizabella – the fallen goddess / the exiled erotic self / memory and regret

Rum Tum Tugger – the trickster libido, chaos, sex appeal incarnate

Old Deuteronomy – the wise patriarch, time itself embodied

Macavity – the shadow archetype, criminal instinct

Munkustrap – the storyteller, the chorus, order and observation

They are not meant to “change.” They present themselves. This is a parade of identities asking a cosmic question: Who deserves transcendence?

They stayed in rule as cats.

That discipline is everything.

The performers are not acting “sexy humans pretending to be cats.” They are humans suppressing their humanity to allow animal instinct to dominate. The choreography demands:

constant low center of gravity

prowling awareness

elastic spines

hands that behave like paws

eyes that never stop scanning

This creates a physical language that is:

predatory

playful

curious

unapologetically sensual

Cats don’t flirt the way humans do. 

They display. Stretching. Arching. Grooming. Staring. Retreating. Approaching again.

Sex appeal emerges not because it’s advertised—but because it’s inevitable.

Cats are erotic without intention. That’s the key difference. There’s no performance of desire for an audience—there’s just embodied confidence, physical intelligence, and instinctual presence.

The performers:

take up space without apology

move as if watched but unconcerned

exist in their bodies with ease and ownership

That reads as sexy because it taps into something ancient: desire before language.

It’s closer to:

dance

ritual

courtship

animal magnetism

Not titillation. Not seduction. Vitality.

Cats doesn’t want you to “believe” in cats singing. It wants you to submit to a different logic—dream logic, myth logic, body logic.

the set is oversized (you’re inside a cat’s world)

time feels suspended

the fourth wall dissolves

eye contact with the audience is frequent and unsettling

You’re not watching animals. You’re being observed by them.

They were nimble.

They were inquisitive.

They were agile.

And yes… they were sexy.

Because Cats is not about cats.

It’s about what humans look like when they remember they are animals first 🐾

Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber

Based on “Old Possum’s Book of Practical cats by TS Eliot

Associate director and choreography: Chrissie Cartwright

Music supervisor: Peter McCarthy

Assistant Choreographer and Director: Matt Krzan

Musical director: Louis Zurnamer

Resident director: Duane Alexander

Sound designer: David Creasly

Lighting designer: Howard Eaton

Gimbie cat choreographer: Bill Deamer

Orchestations by: David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber

Cast

Cindy-Ann Abrahams

King B

Phoebe Charles 

Tatum Coleman

Noa Duckitt

Cassiel Eatock-Winnik

Ryan Flynn

Micheal Fullard

Che-Jean Jupp

Dylan Janse van Rensburg 

Congratulations Duane Alexander and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing. 

📸: SamSays 

My favorite Broadway

/ antakalipa / Leave a comment

Jonathan Roxmouth

At the Teatro for the Jonathan Roxmouth My favorite Broadway show. Seats so good, you stay seated when someone ahead of you is on their feet. Literally eyeball-to-eyeball with Jonathan and you can see the Maestro’s shoes. Thank you Belinda Howard and as always SamSays on the credits.

Charisma, presence, composure, calm, warmth are adjectives to describe Roxmouth. He keeps you engaged, he is captivating and the delivery masterful. Last time I was at the Teatro, I was watching “Swinging Las Vegas” – high octane show with hits galore! Came back for the Maestro and Jonathan Roxmouth for new memories. It’s ridiculous how good Jonathan is, he commands the stage, has comedic timing and spellbinding on the mic. Songs about love and a couple of ABBA classics – thank you for the music! He sings with passion, love and attention for his craft. You are at his mercy, the world stops for him. His voice melts on the pan like butter. It is soothing like a lullaby and keeps you awake like Redbull – energizing, you can listen to him the whole day. You get lost in his voice, he has the capability of making you daydream but you are lucid so you applaud after the song.

Roxmouth is joined by Maestro Adam Howard and the Egoli Symphonic Orchestra who are too great to encapsulate with words. I need to update my music vocabulary and acclimatize myself to the jargon, then maybe I’ll have a better chance of expressing myself. Then again, you play music, it was never meant to be serious. The stage has the Egoli Symphonic Orchestra concentrated in the middle and they spread to the sides. Behind the Orchestra are screens, one in the middle and one on either side. The screens provide a backdrop and themes of the songs performed. Jonathan Roxmouth changes costumes three times, different colored suits with sequins. The part where he tap-dances with the other Jonathan’s on the screen is awesome, humorous, I enjoyed that there was female representation, perfect choreography and completely in sync. Maestro Adam Howard expertly leads procedures. He is in charge, present, perfect, there is no show without him. I am with Momo, he has Maestro Adam Howard by his side, but I do recognize Kabza’s greatness.

Great show, a privilege to behold Roxmouth’s mastery on the stage. Chicago is up next!

Congratulations Jonathan Roxmouth and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

📷: Crowther Fourie

📷: Elena Samuels

Dear Evan Hansen

/ antakalipa / Leave a comment

Dear Evan Hansen

I was at the Teatro to watch “Dear Evan Hansen”, been looking forward to seeing it for weeks and it didn’t disappoint. The production is simply excellent, live theatre at its absolute best. A musical with a live band, they are not in sight but they are felt throughout the show. The show is seamless and flows effortlessly, the moving stage creates this seamless transition between scenes. The mood is blue and it permeates the auditorium, with blue LED lights flickering, set against a backdrop of screens that are most of the time blue. The screens are also a story-telling device that helped communicate the passage of time. They helped create sets for certain scenes by providing the backdrops and gave us visual cues when the content in the show went viral on the internet, reading all the comments and seeing all the likes on the screen made the experience even better. The set is glorious. I loved the fact that we could hear the conversations Evan had over the internet with his devices. The show is inclusive, we could hear everything, even what was happening in his head, his thoughts, ridden with anxiety. The live band are a nice touch, they are exquisite, the singing wonderful and the acting world class. From voice intonations, body language, hand gestures, micro-expressions and movements. Evan for example is overly anxious, his mind is always racing, he is nervy, uncomfortable, awkward, not sure of himself and just everywhere. This is reflected in his demeanor, tone of voice, expressions and gestures. His hands are always moving, head looking downwards, characteristic mumbling and fumbling, his favorite words to say “I am sorry”. He is riddled by insecurity, he is a mess.

The story explores depression, social anxiety and suicide. The tone is blue, sophisticated color considering the subject matter and link to depression. Evan Hansen, a high school pupil who suffers from depression and anxiety, who also has a broken arm has a hard time making friends. His mother suggests he should let other students sign his cast, that way he will make friends. A student named Connor whom he is not close to signs his cast and ultimately commits suicide. Evan lies about the nature of their relationship, claiming that he and Connor were best friends. The lies pile up and Connors family get involved. Now that Connor is not here anymore, grief makes them regard Evan as their own. They even offer to give Connor’s college fund to Evan, something that enrages Evans hardworking single mother parent. Evan even manages to date Connor’s beautiful sister – surprising, considering his level of social anxiety. He wins her heart by lying, fabricating narratives in the guise of them coming from his brother. The socially awkward Evan benefits immensely from Connor’s suicide, his peers even start looking at him favorably but he can’t live with himself so he tells the truth. It is a moving story about family, belonging, relationships and mental health. Social media is the focal point as we see a number of posts go viral. Viral posts that perpetuate a lie, but through the “Connor Project website”, they also manage to immortalize Connors memory.

Stuart Brown is magnificent as Evan Hansen, he got the nuances spot-on, the mannerisms of someone who is socially awkward, the fidgeting, lack of eye contact, hand movements and voice intonations. His performance carried a lot of range, he made you laugh, he cried, he was vulnerable and he was awkward among other states. He is a phenomenal actor. Sharon Spiegel-Wagner plays Cynthia Murphy. Sharon is my all time favorite performer in the world!

Charlie Bouguenon is Larry Murphy
Keely Crocker is Zoe Murphy
Ntshikeng Matooane is Alana Beck
Justin Swartz is (family friend) Jared Kleinman
Micheal Stray is Connor Murphy
Lucy Tops is Heidi Hansen

The show is truly wonderful and the venue perfect. Everyone performs at a high level. It’s beautiful to watch theatre that connects with the youth, theatre for the times, for the human spirit, theatre that tackles feelings of unworthiness, loneliness and well-being. Theatre that resonates with anybody despite your social standing and influence in the world. The world is plagued by anxiety, pills and other drugs only numb the pain but it doesn’t go away, tomorrow it’s still there and the weight is heavier. We sit with the pain because the world claims depression is not a real condition, meanwhile it eats at us until we can’t carry on anymore. We need more stories like these to normalize depression and mental health, stories to make the common man feel like he is understood. Stories that will make us understand our world much better.

Congratulations How Now Brown Cow Productions for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

As always SamSays on the credits.

My Fair Lady

/ antakalipa / Leave a comment

My Fair Lady

Opening day of My Fair Lady at the Teatro, my first time, the theatre is exquisite, what a beauty! I asked Sam if “bestest” was a word after the show, she replied “no but it’s usable”. Greenlight, the show is amazing, somehow “best” is not enough, I need another “est” to transcend this post. It’s simply a perfect show, no flaws, no imperfections, just your definition of excellence. From the acting, to the lighting, choreography, script, sets, orchestra and the Maestro, singing, props, costumes, feel, mood, everything. It is story-telling at the highest level. A witty musical that had the audience laughing all the way through. The story follows Henry Higgins who believes accent and English can get you to the very top of society. Just maybe “bestest” is not a good idea for this post. She meets a meager girl, with a strange accent, Eliza Doolittle and makes a wager with his friend Colonel Pikering, a fellow phenetics expert. He wins, he’s right, with Henry Higgins help, Eliza ends up dancing with a foreign prince at the ball. Things started coming right after “The rain in Spain”.

Craig Urbani who plays Henry Higgins deserves special praise for his performance. He is unbelievably great! He commands the show, the acting is out of this world. He has incredible range, he can make you laugh, he can make you sad, he sings, he dances, he acts, he is incredible. His viewpoint on women makes me laugh, he doesn’t understand them, he wants to know, why can’t they be like men, why can’t they just be like him. He covers how women ruin lives on “I am an ordinary man”, a humurous piece that had the audience laughing out loud.

Graham Hopkins is a legend, he plays Colonel Pickering, like Craig, he does everything, he is humorous, he is engaging, he is superb! Leah Mari who plays Eliza Doolittle is amazing, unbelievable, the singing is outstanding, the acting top-class and she’s just gorgeous! It would be a great injustice if I left out Mark Richardson who played Eliza’s father Doolittle, he is on the same level of the other cast members, he too is great on every front.

Music by Frederick Loewe
Musical direction by Kevin Kraak
Designed by Greg King
Choreography by Duane Alexander
Sound Design by Mark Malherbe
Lighting designer by Dennis Hutchinson
Original Costume Designer Neil Stuart Harris
Costume Co-ordinator Martha Visage
Additional costumes Andrew Botha

Congratulations Steven Stead and the whole team for the bestest show ever and a deserved standing ovation.