Dance of the cats

Mask Theatre Company performed the West End and Broadway show “Cats The Musical” for the first time in Bahrain on December 10, 11 and 12 at the Bahrain Rugby Club here.

Cats is the story, told exclusively through singing, of a tribe of cats called the “Jellicles” and the night they make what is known as “the Jellicle choice”, where they decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to  new life.  There was a cast of over 70 actors – children and adults – in the fantastic show.  All profits from this production will be donated to charity. 

MASK Theatre Company is part of Inspire Bahrain, an initiative in arts that aims to empower children, youth and adults through diverse arts based activities and to help them realise their full potential as productive, responsible leaders, team players and caring citizens. This is an interview with one of the cast members, contributed to the DT News Campus page by Marina Edward, a student. 

Could you please tell us about you and your role in the musical?

I am Alonzo, who is the 2nd in command protector of our tribe.

How many actors do you have in this musical?

We are around 70 actors with kids from seven years old to adults in their 50s.

What is this musical about?

This musical is about a tribe of cats that meet once a year to choose one of the old cats to be reborn into a new life. Throughout the play, you learn about this tribe of cats and their traditions.

How long have you been practising for this musical?

We have been practising three days a week for an average of two hours-and-a-half since May.

Who wrote this musical?

This is actually a Broadway musical written by Andrew Webber, who has written many musicals before such as “The Phantom of the opera.”

Who organises this musical?

This musical has been organised for us by MASK which is created by Lydia Martin. She is our director and we have permission from London to perform.

Have you done musicals before in Bahrain?

I personally haven’t done a musical here before, but this organisation has been doing musicals for a couple of years now.

What are the difficulties that you faced in this show?

I guess the difficult part about this play is that it has a lot of acrobats and we had to take huge precautions to ensure everyone’s safety, especially with kids in our cast.

Did a lot of people attend the show?

So far, we have had a decent amount of tickets sold and this is the biggest audience I have preformed in front of since I started singing.

What did you like the most in this play?

I got to meet a lot of great people whom I will stay in contact with. I did something that I like, which is sing and act, and I like how all the proceeds go to charity.

Would you like to be in a play again?

I would love to do a play once again, maybe not next year but I would do it someday.