Upon entering the auditorium, we were presented with a fantastic set. It gave lots of opportunities for the cast to create their feline characters and was cleverly designed and constructed by the society.
Along with the lighting which had some great effects helping the audience identify where the vocals were coming from and adding atmospherics as required.
Right from the start the cast of over 40 shone in a well-disciplined production making use of the extended stage and giving us all the different cat personalities with lots of attention to detail.
I simply cannot mention all the cast members by name however, there were a few that really stood out. Hayden Wagland as Munkustrap was a great narrator with great stage presence, linking the various sections of the show together, Elliot Greaves as Gus completely embodied the old cat living on his past dreams, Oliver Blowers as Old Deuteronomy had the gravitas required to confidently portray this part and Finlay Adams as Skimbleshanks gave a charming delivery and his number was the most entertaining in the show with clever use of props.
It was though, Gabriella Odd as Demeter that captivated me during the performance. She never missed a beat, she danced and sang so well and her number Macavity with Phoebe Hooper as Bombalurina was an exceptional duo.
The Jellicle Ball dance towards the end of Act 1 was a tour de force. It was well choreographed and so well executed with lots of different sections of the cast performing at different times keeping the momentum going for such a long dance number, and it maintained the power throughout.
Costumes designed and created by the society were an excellent addition to the overall show. Each character was well defined both by its costume and makeup and wig. It was clear a lot of thought and dedication had gone into the preparation of this element of the show.
The excellent 14 piece band under the safe baton of Bryan Cass was strong and gave a wonderful sound for the cast to perform to.
Overall, this was an outstanding production from Young Gen with all the composite parts making up a quality show. This is probably the strongest youth show I have seen in a very long time and huge congratulations to everyone involved in every single capacity as it was very evident this was a huge team effort and it paid off.
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