Cat On A Hot Tin Roof Review

During the Easter weekend, my husband and I went to see the Tenessee Williams play Cat On A Hot Tin Roof  showing at the Novello Theatre in London.
I was really looking forward to it, as it was the first time an all black cast had been selected for all the roles and included in that cast was my friends' daughter (although, unfortunately, the day we booked, she wasn't scheduled in).

The play is about the Pollit family. The main focus is on the turbulent relationship of the husband Brick (played by British actor Adrian Lester) and Maggie (The Cat, played by the brilliant Saana Lathan) and their interaction with the other members of the family over the course of a weekend.

Big Daddy (played by the wonderful James Earl Jones) is a millionaire and celebrating his 65th birthday.
He doesn't know - but his family does - that he is dying of cancer and his two daughter in laws are clamouring for their husbands share of the family legacy.

Brick - Big Daddy's favourite, is a former sports star and  has turned to drink to escape from the 'mendacity' he sees surrounding him and also mourning the death of his best friend Skipper. Maggie is craving for his attention and is also frustrated at his lack of enthusiasm to claim his rightful share of Big Daddy's inheritance.

After watching this play, both my hubby and I felt as though we had been on an emotional obstacle course.  The play captured the complexity of each of the characters and their failure to build and maintain relationships. It was really powerful in depicting moral crisis.

Acting commendations have to go to James Earl Jones and Saana Lathan. Both portrayed the characters brilliantly and in my opinion carried the play at times. Their stage presence was awesome - I couldn't keep my eyes off them!

The acting was brilliant - from start to finish it was very gripping viewing. There were a few humourous lines threaded throughout the production which bought a little dark humour in the mix.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and my only critisism would be that I felt it was a tad long, but I would definately reccomend it to anyone.

Have a lovely day! X