THEATRE INTERVIEW: Cats the Musical

Two of the "Cats" actors who receives the loudest applause from Bangkok audiences night after night--Rohan Browne, who portrays Rum Tum Tugger, and Tony Farrell, who triple-roles as Gus, Bustopher Jones, and Growltiger--talk to Weekend.  

Browne, who performed Alonzo and under-studied Rum Tum in the previous tours of "Cats", says he uses his background as a dancer to bring Rum Tum to life.

"I feel comfortable in the choreography … the sexy moves and things like that, and I've brought the characterisation into my character," says Browne. "Rum Tum is very impulsive, sometimes he does the wrong thing but doesn't think much about it. Every time this character comes onto the stage, he creates something, disrupting something, for example. Originally, the character was based on Mick Jagger, a kind of loud and obnoxious character. I do that but I also add my interpretation as well."

Farrell, who was a police detective before becoming a professional actor only eight years ago, says he has tried to create something special and different with the three roles he plays.

"I build the physicality of these characters first, and then apply the backgrounds," Farrell says. "As long as I stay true to the text, it's become quite enjoyable." The touring production has been limited, travelling only to South Korea, Thailand, China and Scandinavia, but it has put on more than 150 performances since May. So, of course, it's a difficult task to make it fresh every night. Yet, these two Australian performers prove that they still can make it like their first time.

"That's because of the crowd's reaction," Browne says. "Even though the choreography is set and you have to be at a certain position at a certain time, there are lots of other things in-between - the reactions among the cats, for example." 

Farrell reveals his secret: "If you continue to react to what's happening around you, you'll never have the same performance, because nothing happens the same all the time. The audiences here in Bangkok are listening so intently to what's happening. You find that it's become personal and you feel like you're talking to a certain individual."

What's the most important aspect of performing in a musical - acting, singing, or dancing?

Browne, who's been trained as a dancer since his childhood, says: "There's no one part that's more important than the others. What always happens [in the casting process of musical theatre], though, is that the actor always wins over the singer and the dancer, which is regarded as the lowest of the three.

"I would urge anybody out there to have all three because you can never have too much knowledge. It's amazing when you can watch someone who can do acting, singing, and dancing as equally well as one another. My suggestion for singers and dancers is to have a brief acting lesson, so that when you're asked to read a script, you're comfortable enough."

Farrell, who's more of an actor than a dancer or a singer, doesn't pick one answer but replies, "It's the discipline of how you can maintain your focus in any of those [acting, singing, and dancing]. It's more about the application to the work, than the certain discipline. Singing and dancing are something you can continually work on. They're the technical sides of the work. The acting side is to not think that you know it already. You think that you got it, and you'd go astray. I don't think, though, that one is more important than the two others."  

Interestingly enough, Farrell has never had any formal training in acting, dancing, or singing. He says, "Every time you're [performing] in a production, and you do what you're told to do [by the director and the choreographer], it's like you're in a master class already. Well, I'm also lucky enough to be married to an acting teacher."

One of the most commonly heard and read negative comments on the long-running show is that it's nothing more than "a bunch of cats dancing around".

To this, Browne responds, "Before I performed in 'Cats', I used to think the same as well, but it's actually a lot more than that. It wouldn't be the longest running musical in the world were it just 'a bunch of cats dancing around.' You wouldn't realise this until you get here."

Farrell says, "It's one of the world's most successful musical in the past 15 years, and that could be one criticism of it. If you go to see the show, and that's what you see, then that's fantastic, you're entertained.

"But if you want to take it to another level and want to apply the story to what's happening around the world, you can do that as well. But we're not trying to force anyone to understand anything more than what they're prepared to understand."

written by Pawit Mahasarinand;

published in The Nation (Weekend) on November 23, 2007

all photos are courtesy of BEC Tero Entertainment