Return to the West End: Cats The Musical

Return of the 1980’s; Cats The Musical.

With Cats, Miss Saigon and Evita all returning to the West End within a year of each other it would seem that the dawning of another 1980’s era is upon us. I, for one, am alright with that. Some of the best musicals started out in the 1980’s. My first memory of Cats The Musical was driving round in my Dad’s Forest Green Land Rover Discovery, listening to The Magical Mister Mistofolees. Memory, the Elaine Paige version, was on every ‘West End & Broadway Musicals’ compilation CD and trust me, my Dad owned them all. Eventually, Really Useful Productions released a VHS of the original cast of Cats which quickly became one of the most played tapes in my house, along with Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (starring Donny Osmond). Clearly, I was a musical theatre kid. By the age of six I was taking every dance class going and eventually I got to see Cats on stage with my Dad. I remember being absolutely in awe and so stunned that everything was exactly like it was on the VHS tape, starring Elaine Paige as Grizabella and John Partridge as the notorious Rum Tum Tugger. Upon hearing that Cats would return to the West End for a limited run in the winter of 2014, I was glad it was getting another run, but never thought I’d get to see it. My Grandmother, bless her, decided she would take my partner and I as our Christmas presents. I was thrilled. That was up until I saw Nicole Scherzinger had been cast as Grizabella. I didn’t understand – surely if Scherzinger was going to be in the West End she should be in something much cooler, more hip, and more sexy. Immediately, I was turned off. Not disappointed, and never to the extent that I wouldn’t want to go, but confused at the casting choice. I thought that casting Scherzinger would change the audience; I didn’t want to sit in a theatre full of teeny boppers, struggling to see past their ‘We Heart Nicole’ signs.

My, oh my was I wrong. In the lead up to seeing the show, I tried to stay away from reviews because I wanted to be pleasantly surprised and, dear God, was I. I will willingly eat all of my words of Nicole-Nay-Saying, turn on my heel and praise her to the high heavens. Whilst her posture and cat-acting was a little questionable at times, her movement on the whole was completely on par with everyone else on stage. Her vocals were absolutely on point and exceeded every expectation that I ever had for her performance. Never have I ever felt chills like that in Memory. I was never really enamoured with the musical theatre anthem, but the way Scherzinger sings it blows my mind. There’s a massive key change toward the end of the song after, what is in comparison quite a low section, and she knocks it completely out of the ball park. No idea how she does that every night, but judging by other reviews (which I’ve now read) she does. “Sunlight through the trees in summer, endless masquerading, like a flower as the dawn is breaking, the memory is fading... ...Touch me, it’s so easy to leave me, all alone with the memory of my days in the sun.” Not only was I astounded with her powerful key change but her stamina in the lower vocal range was seriously impressive for someone, who I had so wrongly deemed, ‘just a pop star.’

Sadly there is a downside to the revival of Cats. My favourite numbers from Cats were always Macavity and The Rum Tum Tugger (of course Mistofolees will always have a soft spot in my heart.) There was a somewhat mislead and odd attempt to modernise the show by inserting a rap section. Yep, a rap section into a TS Eliot masterpiece. Why is The Rum Tum Tugger suddenly a rap star? Revolutionising the show for a more modern, ethnic audience? I would have preferred the original and so would a lot of other people I can bet. Also, they kept Old Deuteronomy on stage throughout the whole interval. Why is that? The stage hands and technicians then came out to talk to him and bring him his bottle of water. Why not do that backstage? Maybe I’m missing a huge artistic choice, but I don’t think so. If I have missed something, clue me in. To close, my thoughts on Cats have left me with some questions. Would Cats have sold so well if Andrew Lloyd Webber hadn’t cast international star Nicole Scherzinger? Why can Cameron Mackintosh afford to revive his 80’s musical hit Miss Saigon into the West End as an open ended run, whereas both Webber’s 80’s productions are only guaranteed limited runs? Anyway, that’s enough high-brow wondering for the mean time. I’m going to put the clip of Scherzy doing her thing on Memory here, and before people get all uppity about recording in a theatre – it wasn’t me. This is borrowed from YouTube. None but the first picture are mine either, so credit where credits due and it's not me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obGVYstNHwA (The magic happens from about 4:35 onwards...) Happy days.

What Does Fragrance Mean To You? (Gorilla Perfume)

When I was little my Mum wore LouLou by Cacharel and even though she hasn’t worn it for years whenever I smell it, it reminds me of her. My Mum smells like LouLou, smoke, burnt toast and a little Nag Champa. My Dad will always smell like Polo by Ralph Lauren, because he thinks that’s what cool-Dad’s wear, Red Wine and mint. Every time I think about fragrance, I think about what the people I know smell like – my friend smells like a squirt of Tom Ford that she's always lusting over and buying 10ml here, 10ml there whereas other people permanently smell like Jo by Jo Malone because they can afford that. It makes me think about, what I smell like - What do I smell like to other people?

At secondary school, I remember everyone used the So...? or the Charlie body sprays and that’s what we considered our perfume. By the time, I hit my A Levels I’d experimented with a bunch of perfumes and signature scents but wasn’t committed to anything.

Fragrance, of any kind, can be so evocative of an innumerable amount of things; memories, places, people. There’s always that one particular scent that reminds you of a perfect holiday you took last summer; your ‘holiday’ perfume. And the same goes for the perfume that makes you feel sexy; your ‘going out’ perfume and even your ‘everyday’ perfume will conjure up some memories of people and places for you.

I don’t believe anyone who says that fragrance, or scent isn’t important. If you walked into a store, and it smelled terrible, you wouldn’t want to stay. Same goes for people’s houses and by extension – people. I can make a secure bet that you know what your partner smells like and both your parents too. Is there a scent that always reminds you of your grandmother - powdered rose petals with a hint of sweet sherry for example? Maybe you’re missing a loved one and someone rushes past you in a crowded Waterloo train station, their scent makes your heart jump into your throat because it could have been them.

Before we all get a little crazy running around sniffing everyone, trying to work out what they smell like, let’s keep it on the safe side. If you do you have a slightly darker mindset, however, I would definitely recommend reading Patrick Suskind’s book Perfume. It’s also been made into a movie, but I’d obviously suggest reading the book first.

Routines can give people a certain smell, whether you bake a lot at home, or have a specific beauty regime – work also effects the way people analyse scents as well as what they smell like themselves. Obviously, food can change the way we smell as well as the drinks we choose. And locations too, if you’re living in the countryside then factors like fields, fresh air breezes and light will attribute to scents. The city however paints different pictures of smoke, heavy fog as well as darker, night time feelings which translate well into scents.

Finally, after 21 years of smelling things (some nice, some not so) I decided on a perfume. A perfume that would be mine, and when my friends would smell it, they’d know it was me. A heady mix of orange and patchouli spice, mixed with the Nag Champa fug of 1960’s London. The sweet orange oil stays well all day and works on keeping my bohemian mind at bay as well as my scent surrounding me. Of course, the perfume I’m talking about (if you hadn’t already guessed) is Karma by Lush. Karma is Lush’s signature scent which I like to think means they’ll never stop making it. Karma has managed to infiltrate Lush’s ranks and they’ve created not only a Karma Bubble Bar, but also a Karma Kream, Karma Komba Shampoo Bar and Karma Soap – good vibes all around.

Although Karma will always be my go-to perfume, no matter what, now that I also have infiltrated Lush’s ranks, the constant exposure to all the fancy bottles and trinkets is making me long to explore the other scents. A recent trip to Gorilla Perfume in Islington, London let me explore Gorilla Perfumes that I hadn’t got to meet yet. For those of you who don’t know, Gorilla is Lush’s perfume range. They have a stand-alone store and you can buy most of their perfumes there, if your tastes lie outside of the standard range that Lush stores carry.

Recently, I’ve really been enjoying Kerbside Violet from Gorilla Perfumes. Kerbside is a more spring seasonal perfume, with heavy powdery notes of Violet. There is a wonderful underlying note of woody, fresh, green smell that is reminiscent of walking through a forest, early spring when the dew is still wet on the ground and it’s quickly becoming a second-favourite of Gorilla Perfumes for me. Other violet products that Lush do, are more often than not, only found now on the Lush Kitchen; Violet Nights Bath Oil (a Cosmetics To Go Original) or Bathos Bubble Bar.

Give Lush’s perfume catalogue a flick through, but if you do find yourself in Angel Islington with some time to kill, then take a walk over to Camden Passage and find the little store with a bright orange front. It’s just opposite Frederick's Bar/Restaurant and fits in perfectly with the indie, edginess of a dash of Camden just off charismatic Upper Street.

Lush & Gorilla Perfume are all about their social media presence, so be sure to give them a look too – you can find them at:
Lush Twitter
Lush Instagram
Lush Facebook

Gorilla Twitter
Gorilla Instagram
Gorilla Facebook

And that’s it from me for the moment.
Happy New Year & Happy Sniffing!