REVIEW: Cats, by Dereham Operatic Society Youth Theatre Company (DOSYTCo).
I was invited to watch DOSYTCo's performance of Cats on Saturday night and although apprehensive at the start of the evening, I left with a huge smile on my face.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End musical tells the story of a group of cats called the 'Jellicles' and their night known as 'the Jellicle choice'.
This is the night where they decide which cat will go to the Heaviside layer and come back to a new life.
It is safe to say that this show is notorious for being rather complex and difficult to perform to a good standard, however, the amateur company of seven to 19-year-olds did a really fantastic job.
The personification of the cat characters was spot on and they all managed to keep it up for the entirety of the show - two hours is quite a long time to pretend to be a cat!
Cats is very much ensemble based, meaning that a lot of the cast were on stage most of the time which was lovely to see.
The musical consists of all songs with very little speech meaning there was constant movement and singing which was executed fantastically.
The choreography was wonderful, the set was brilliant and depicted a junk yard perfectly, whilst the hair and make-up really stood out and looked great on the stage.
Highlights of the night for me were Jellicle songs for Jellicle Cats, Gumbie Cat, Memory, Macavity the Mystery Cat, Mr Mistoffelees and the dancing in general.
Each member of the cast played an amazing part in everything they did, but people who stood out to me in particular were Emily Scarlett, Esme Findlay and Maisie Dolman.
It is of no surprise that the group received a standing ovation for every single performance after tackling such a challenging musical so well.
I have said it before and I'll say it again, DOSYTCo never fail to do Dereham proud with their productions, no matter what show they are presented with.
It was great to see every seat in the auditorium full and everyone stand on their feet at the end of the night - DOSYTCo, you did it again.
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