If you like your theatre experience to make you laugh and to make you think – really hard – at the same time, then Music For Cats is for you. A thoughtful and philosophical piece from Katy Matthews who manages to pack a lot of science of time travel in while simultaneously making it laugh out loud funny is a balancing act of geekiness and mainstream appeal combined.
Set in a future where it’s become possible to send messages to the past with information to avoid outcomes from natural disasters, inevitably, insurance companies now exist with time clauses. The main body of the play is set in the offices of an insurance company, between customer, office worker and eventually, the supervisor. Thus we have Pryor, played with intense and forthright conviction by Andrew Crouch, bringing a case to beleaguered insurance claim adjuster Charlie, played with the over helpfulness of the inept by Matt Vickery. His way of nervously drinking water from his own and anybody else’s glass to punctuate his words is incredibly well comedically timed.
Very satisfyingly, there are no plot holes in any of the discussions of time, of branches in time when things in the past are changed and the fact that you couldn’t change something in the past to affect you in the now, as it would affect a different time line. Sci Fi or just science fans everywhere will rejoice that this play has done more to make sense of current scientific knowledge than many a TV series has. Making it all funny makes it palatable to those who may not appreciate the logic as much as others. It also never gets preachy, which is a giant plus point. It also has some interesting things to say about the natural world, particularly cats: hence the title. Charlie has a wonderful pet Siamese cat who may actually be his only friend, as he mournfully says of the cat “he licks my tears” which is utterly hilarious in its context, especially when the other two don’t respond to him. The serious point about people being able to be aware, like music, of echoes or phantom recall, is a fascinating thought, and that other creatures hear music differently due to their differing auditory ranges – again hence the title.
There is a lot of direct address with eye contact to the audience by the Charlie character and as this play takes place in an office, it’s not clear why or who or what the audience represents, in terms of the play’s narrative. These moments are very funny, so it seems these are just out-take moments played for laughs, which is a shame: if they had the confidence to trust the audience that we are keeping up with the science, and the fact that Pryor is there to claim for a son he never had is funny enough by itself, without adding almost stand-up moments. Perhaps these sections could be embraced more within the narrative with a “who are you talking to?” from one of the other characters. The start and end with them playing different parts all in some kind of stock exchange with projections behind them while they talk very quickly on different phones is a nice device and the opening works well. The multi-rolling allows Matt Vickery and Andrew Crouch particularly to shine.
This is hugely enjoyable, and the three ensemble cast, completed with Eleanor Stourton as Post, do well. Andrew Crouch’s conviction, determination and sometimes even aggression work incredibly well, he has all the power in the room. Matt Vickery shines as Charlie, so very believable and very watchable. A play which talks about music being parts of maths and time, yet makes it sound interesting, is not an easy task at all: yet accomplished here with aplomb.
The Actors, 14 May 2024
Music For Cats runs until 15 May 2024
Photos credit: Artlandish and Dark Unicorn Productions
