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Interviews
Feline Fun and Musical Memories
When I corner him for a chat on the phone about the new production of Cats showing at Monte Casino, Duane Alexander sounds surprisingly relaxed for someone dealing with the pressures of directing one of the largest scale musical productions the world has ever seen. We had a chat about what it's like staging a mega-musical in South Africa.
How did you come to be as resident director of Cats?
When Cats was first staged in South Africa in 2001 I was a member of the cast. Then, when it was staged again two years ago, I was promoted and became the dance captain. So when they needed a resident director this time round I seemed a natural choice, since I'd been with the production since its inception.
I am resident director, which means I basically just take over from Jo-Anne Robinson, whose direction of Cats in past productions has been so successful, and build on the work she has already done. Robinson has such an in-depth understanding of the drama and characters, so my responsibility was just to maintain what she had established initially. That's the job of a resident director, rather than injecting your own flavour into the production. I had no intention of modifying it or taking liberties. But as we go the actors will find new nuances and ways to interpret the characters and it's my job as resident director to work these developments into the production.
The musical is based on a book of poems by TS Elliot, Old Possums' Book of Practical Cats, so the pitfall is that it can be seen as some sort of anthology rather than a story with a beginning, middle and end. But the original Cats director, Trevor Nunn, was very successful in introducing a narrative element. That's why the character of Grizabella, who sings Memory, was added. That particular song is based on a TS Elliot poem that wasn't in the original book, but was added to create more of a narrative for Cats. And, the climax of the play is the Jelicle Ball, which all the cats attend, a narrative device that ties all the different stories together.
I think that unlike oversees, where they are used to putting on productions of this scale, we are hungry for it - it's something fairly new for us, so it's not just a job. That gives us this extra energy and added X Factor that makes our versions as good if not better than those on the West End or Broadway. When we staged Cats in 2001it was the first big mega-musical we'd put on in SA so there was massive anticipation and excitement. Now we must maintain it, because nowadays there are more opportunities to do this kind of work and richer pickings - I hope that doesn't dull the hunger and enthusiasm that makes our big productions special.
What can audience members expect from Cats?
An uplifting evening of entertainment.
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