This successful Broadway transplant of Tennessee Williams’ own favourite play has been given an all black cast by director Debbie Allen – yes, the 80s Fame icon, and utterer of the immortal line “Fame costs, and right here’s where you start paying. In sweat.” The production retains the legendary James Earl Jones (aka the voice of Darth Vader) as patriarch Big Daddy and Phylicia Rashad (best known as Bill Cosby’s TV wife) as Big Mama. Sanaa Lathan (Alien vs Predator) as the sensuous, frustrated Maggie the Cat and Brit Adrian Lester (Hustle) as the detached, sexually ambiguous Brick, are new additions for this limited London run.
The show’s action occurs in real-time over one night and William’s profound, fruity script dissects the Pollit family as their secrets and lies are dragged, kicking and screaming, into the light. Each of the beautifully flawed and contradictory characters demonstrate their failings as much as their strengths whilst exposing moving emotional truths both personal and universal.
Brick is the centre cog around which the play revolves, as his patience is worn down over the course of the evening so his family descends into chaos. Adrian Lester’s is impressive as the initially controlled Brick, grounding his co-stars more showy, yet equally skilful performances. Lathaan’s scenery chewing Maggie has to carry the first act and does so admirably, seducing the audience – but not her husband – with her shameless charisma, as much as her more obvious sex appeal. Rashad’s suitably grotesque turn initially appears to be comic relief, but she deftly flips this, effortlessly engaging the audience’s sympathy. James Earl Jones has to be the productions biggest draw. While he doesn’t appear until the second act, his spectacular, visceral performance immediately dominates the theatre, just as his overbearing character rules his family.
In the 50 or so years since it was written, Cat has lost none of its potency and this revival makes it feel just as relevant and alive now, as it must have when it was first performed. Allen is to be commended on how elegantly the shift in race is handled. By bumping the time period up from the 50s to the 80s, and tweaking the script slightly to reflect this, the spirit and detail of the text is preserved, but the changes allow it to resonate more strongly with a modern audience and widen it’s appeal.