On his maiden visit to India, British theatre personality Matt Krzan serves as the resident director of the international production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, Cats, which will be staged at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai.“Cats is unique because it is a completely sung-through show and is so intertwined with dance. We are taking the audience to a different world where humans are cats prowling a junkyard. It is a magical show as it allows you to believe and be transported,” says Matt.
Composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the production is renowned for its visionary stagecraft and groundbreaking artistry.
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Cats, which premiered in London’s West End in 1981, is based on T.S. Eliot’s 1939 poetry collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. First directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, the musical traces the tale of a tribe of cats called Jellicles.Basically an actor, Matt has had a long association with Cats in multiple capacities. Though Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat was the first Lloyd Webber show that Matt saw live, he would watch Cats on video over and over again, till he saw a stage performance when he was 17.Professionally, he was first involved with Cats in 2004. “I got the job while I was still in college. I was originally a swing, which means you cover numerous roles and go on stage when someone is injured or on holiday. I then joined the cast again two years later and played Macavity, touring the UK and Italy. I went on to play Munkustrap at the London Palladium which was a dream come true. I got to work closely with Sir Trevor Nunn, the director, and Dame Gillian Lynne, the choreographer,” he says.
