How To Live A Jellicle Life: Life Lessons from the 2019 Hit Movie Musical Cats
Lion and Unicorn Theatre, 20th Oct - 24th Oct 2020
The road that led to me seeing Linus Karp in this new one-man show “How To Live A Jellicle Life: Life Lessons from the 2019 Hit Movie Musical Cats” was a long and at times bewildering journey, given that several weeks prior to the show I had decided to immerse myself in the world of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS, several degrees more than was actually necessary, (or would even be recommended), but having never seen the original theatrical production or the 2019 movie, (I’m sure many of you will be in the same position), I felt strangely compelled to go all in as preparation for watching a show that focuses on one man’s obsession with all things jellicle.
Despite the title being quite clear that it was specifically the movie version that had led to the advent of this show, I hadn’t realised Tom Hoopers film had already been made available for digital download, (full marks for the film studios optimism), and so I found myself watching a strangely well-timed broadcast of the original theatrical production on Sky Arts, my thoughts being that it was probably wise to at least know the ‘story’ (That’s not a typo. Apparently there is one). Having seen Elaine Paige and John Mills looking as confused during their performance as my own face was whilst watching them, I was left with more questions than answers? (As Linus himself freely admits during the show, ‘Why!’ is one of the most popular questions asked by a lot of people who have seen CATS).
Undeterred, I was soon back in the strange world of Mr. Mistoffelees, Macavity, Grizabella et al, having finally found the movie version online, and whilst it more or less left me with the same question, “Why?”, it did in fact prove to be beneficial as a key that would unlock a whole other level of funny during Linus’s well crafted show, self penned along with partner and co-producer Joseph Paterson.
Despite the succinctness of the original musicals title, Linus has a history of liking longer, more descriptive titles for the shows he stars in, and it was in the same theatre in 2018 that he was first seen performing Rob Hayes one act, one man play ‘Conversations With Animals I’ve F*cked’, (cats be warned!!) and although he has also more recently been seen performing as part of the improvised comedy group Geraldyne, ‘How to Live a Jellicle Life: Life Lessons from the 2019 Hit Movie Musical Cats’ shows he is more than capable of writing comedy that is as well conceived as it is impressively structured.
In style the evening is not dissimilar to comedian Adam Buxton’s ‘Bug’ offerings, in that his observations are delivered TedTalk style accompanied by a powerpoint presentation to help make his case for the life changing potential of this otherwise, possibly best forgotten film. It’s an altogether more animated affair than Buxton’s however as Linus takes to the stage in a body-tight lycra cat suit, complete with a lions mane-like headpiece (Alison Carlyle) in which he prances and dances (Sam Carlyle) his way between hilarious set pieces in which he extols the virtues of CATS the movie, somehow managing to both elevate and demolish it in equal measure.
That this has become the latest vehicle for Karp’s talent will come as no surprise for anyone following him on social media as, ever since the movie’s release, he has relentlessly been posting his advocacy of all things jellicle. Even his ‘Jellicle Name Generator’, that first made an appearance on his social media way back in January, resurfaces to help the audience discover their own jellicle names, mine rather disappointingly turned out to be Lady Balurina the Police Cat, (Is it wrong to be jealous of the audience member that discovered ‘Jizzy Berry the Ejaculating Cat’ was their jellicle name?) That Linus makes it so easy for the audience to believe that these are the things that have truly occupied his mind since the films release is the real secret of the shows success as, other than being sharply written, it is the conviction with which Linus performs the material that becomes truly infectious. There are probably better words to use given the socially distanced nature of tonights performance, and whilst it was unfortunate that Linus was denied seeing the broad smiles of the mask wearing audience, there was no mistaking the high levels of laughter that accompanied his performance from start to finish.
Has all this made me want to live a more jellicle life… the jury’s still out. Has it answered my question “Why?”. Well, er… no. But it certainly gave me a highly enjoyable evenings entertainment, not to mention another insight into the uniquely strange world of Linus Karp. Against my better judgement I advise you also do your homework by familiarising yourself with the movie beforehand, if for no other reason than to get the Jellicle best out of this hilarious show.
★★★★
