An Unreasonably Hot Cat

By Amy Stow

Meow, the cat is sweltering in the heat of the Deep South, where 6 family members gather to wish Big Daddy a happy birthday – his last, alas, although unbeknownst to him. Hot Cat is brought to you from Los Angeles by Theatre Movement Bazaar, a company that prides itself on mixing performance genres using dance, physical theatre, cinema and storytelling. Based on Tennessee Williams’ famous play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, this production of Hot Cat certainly uses a range of techniques to convey the story, involving heightened gestures and facial expressions, choreographed movement within the ensemble, songs and music, amongst other things, to capture the tone of antagonism and angst lurking within each character.

I am uncertain whether I would have understood what on earth was going on had I not seen (and studied) the original play; mores the point, whilst this production was funny in places, visually engaging and cleverly put together, the very nature of the piece alienates the audience from sympathising with any of the characters, or their plight. The company is both Bazaar in name and bizarre in nature; scenes that might be touching are interrupted by odd, unnatural movements, songs about corduroy and gingham, and the introduction of totally random props. It’s all quite entertaining, but utterly bonkers. A final tip: sit towards the middle or back. The actors (despite being accomplished and talented) tend to shout in the faces of those at the front, again for no apparent reason. Reason is definitely not the name of the game in Hot Cat.

★★★

Pleasance Courtyard

August 13th-25th @ 15:30 (1 hr)

@PostScriptJour

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