Review: HOW TO LIVE A JELLICLE LIFE, Lion & Unicorn Theatre

Photo credit: Dave Bird

Since its debut in 1981, Cats has been something of a musical phenomenon. The show by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on TS Eliot’s collection of poems ‘Old Possums Book of Practical Cats’ is one of the most financially successful musicals of all time and ran in London for a staggering 21 years, and 18 on Broadway.

Cats has enjoyed several revivals, tours and international productions, so when producer Cameron Mackintosh announced a film adaptation was making its way to the silver screen, it was destined to be a sure-fire hit. However, this proved to not be the case. When Cats premiered in December 2019, it was a critical and commercial flop. The film was universally panned, but not by one person… Actor Linus Karp saw something so irreverent within the film itself, he became obsessed, especially with the film’s core concept of “What makes a Jellicle Cat?” So he set out to do what any Jellicle would - study the film and share his findings in the form of a one-man show. 

The best way to describe the hour of delicious madness that unfolded at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre last night would be a TED Talk. Karp unapologetically careers through the film and its cats with joyful abandon. He makes hilarious observations when breaking down elements of the film’s characters and structure. What benefits this whole process is that at no point does Karp attempt to shy away from the fact the film is flawed or not well liked, he simply forces you to look at things from a different angle and embrace a new, fresh, and arguably Jellicle perspective.

This is not the first outing of this show, however. In January, Karp started to experience vocal problems, and so what was once a one man show, is now a two hander between Karp and actor Sam Carlyle through the medium of pre-recorded voiceover. Karp explains this all at the start of the show with Carlyle, and the two create an incredible bond throughout, with some excellent voice work from Carlyle and brilliantly organic reactions from Karp as if they were both tangibly on stage together. Karp uses Carlyle to his advantage, allowing her to set up the jokes that he then punchlines with deadpan comedic surety, not to mention the improvised reactions to the audience participation when using his Jellicle name generator.  

Sam Carlyle doesn’t just provide her voice for this production, because it wouldn’t be Cats without its infamous choreography. She has provided Karp with some hilariously camp dance moves; heavily inspired by Dame Gillian Lynne’s iconic choreography that Karp pulls off with dedicated and comedic panache. We also cannot forget the contribution made by Alison Carlyle who provided Linus’ Jellicle costume and wig. Karp looks brilliant in his outfit though doesn’t paint his face, maybe as a constant reminder that Jellicality is a state of being rather than merely an outfit… or CGI. 

How To Live A Jellicle Life: Life Lessons from the Hit 2019 Movie Musical Cats is definitely a show you may think you don’t need until you go. It’s so easy to forget that when a piece of art is so universally hated that there are some people out there that find the splendour in it and they need to be celebrated, for isn’t that that beauty in art, the difference of opinion? Karp may be able to laugh at himself for loving the film but his passion for it, his wit and clever analysis win you over and get you to enjoy a show you never thought you would.

I didn’t know what to expect, personally I didn’t hate the film, I just thought it was poorly done and unnecessary, but How To Live A Jellice Life: Life Lessons from the Hit 2019 Movie Musical Cats is neither of those things. In a year of where we’ve been starved of live theatre this tri-brid of TED Talk, come cabaret, come performance art was exactly the tonic I needed to remind me why I love theatre and why we’ve needed it. It’s the ability to change you, it’s the ability to transport you, it’s the ability to make you laugh, to alter and challenge your views in any number of ways. That is what this show does. 

They say cats have nine lives and all I hope for in the next life of this show is that its longer, because honestly, I could have sat there for another good hour, purely for the Dame Judi Dench mentions, and the TED talk within a TED talk about Taylor Swift. However, I left feeling more Jellicle than when I went in and that to me is mission accomplished. So, (accordingly to Karp’s criminally well thought out name Jellicle cat name generator) just call me “JizzyTeezer the Political Cat.”

****’ Four and a half stars

Reviewed by: Duncan Burt

To view tour dates and to book tickets, please click here.