The stage musical is one of the longest-running and most successful shows ever created, so there has been a lot of apprehension about Tom Hooper’s lush, star-packed movie version of Cats. Well, it certainly is a sensory-rich, enveloping cinematic experience.
The lyrics in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s musical are based on poems in T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book Of Practical Cats. As such, the through narrative is elusive and it feels like a parade of individual monologues. The lack of concrete plot will put some people off, but if you relax and go with slinking you’ll enjoy it for the incredible visuals and mesmerising characters.
The make-up and costuming are truly extraordinary, as are the set designs.
Wide-eyed ballerina, Francesca Hayward is absorbing as the abandoned cat, Victoria. Judi Dench is utterly regal, Ian McKellen is Shakespearean, Idris Elba is sexy evil, James Corden and Rebel Wilson add delightful humour, Laurie Davidson is endearing and Jennifer Hudson rips the roof off with her rendition of Memory.
Supurrb.
★★★ ½
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