Cat On A Hot Tin Roof - GRADS Dolphin Theatre

We saw this show last night after my friends convinced me that Tennessee Williams is a sure bet for a Thursday night!. And she was right! Overall this was a fantastic production with plenty of wonderful things happening on stage. When the curtain raised we were first greeted by a fantastic set. The overall impression was - wow! Congratulations to whoever pulled this together - the initial impact was great and worked very well in relation to the whole context of the play. Even smaller details were not missed - floor boards and general stage furnishings. Act 1 starts with the two lead characters taking the stage - Brick & Maggie. Act one is pretty much carried by Maggie and her outstanding overall performance. I have never heard or seen of this actress before but she really is worth keeping an eye out for. Natural, passionate, realistic and a pleasure to watch. I'm sure the male attendees also enjoyed watching Act 1 based on her obvious natural benefits!!! Are those real!! :) Act 2 leaps into a different pace and overall feel - after the first interval. Some very strong performances from all on stage including Big Mama and Mae. The biggest impression in Act two was the performance from Big Daddy - fantastic! Great character, stage presence and overall ability shone through. Could have watched this character for hours! Also congrats to the children involved in the show - always surprises me how wonderful and natural young children can be - really helped concrete a wonderul show. Act 3 is a mixed bag of all the above - and really takes you on a emotional rollercoaster. It was very easy to get absored and lost in the 1 bedroom mayhem and madness. If I had to pinpoint anything as a weak link it would be the the performance of Brick. He did look very hot with just a towel around his waist (although if you have a shower you don't normally put your undies on under the towel - you can see lines through the towel! + Who else can drink 3 bottles of whisky in 3 hours and still walk and talk??!) I'm sure lots of girls appreciated the physical effect ;) However, he simply was not strong enough to carry this role in my point of view. It was played all on one tone - one level. This charcter needs strength and depth - the audience has to feel sympathy for Brick and at the same time be open to his melancholy situation. This was not the case here - just wanted to pick up his crutch and hit him by the end! Not sure if this was directed this way or just an actor with minimal expereince/exposure? With the right Brick this show would have kicked ass! Even based on the above short-coming - we left the theatre feeling content. It is good theatre! Great set, wonderful lights/sounds, oustanding performances by most and controled direction. Think the show finishes this week - go and see it if you can. We will be sure that we re-visit with Black Swan in 2011! M x