2025 Australia tour - bows and show report (14/1/26, matinee)
Really fun matinee today! Everyone was having so much fun, feeding off each other and being happy and playful.
And fun with covers and split tracks! Savannah Lind gave us a fascinating Rumpel/Jemi split (assisted by Des Flanagan who decided Tugger needed to live his best Jemima life during “Skimbleshanks”). Plus Dominique Hamilton as Deme, Xavier Pellin as Misto, Thalia Smith as Cass, Aimee Jones as Jelly, and a very lovely Griz from Lucy Maunder. (Tanto and Jemi were cut).
(…. Can you tell I was looking at the stage and not at my phone when filming this….. 🤭)
My favourite moment in this night's curtain call footage is Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer experimenting with dance moves and comforting each other for not being as good as Mistoffelees. But obviously always love any flirty playful Jarrodstrap moments, like teasing Alonzo or polishing the stage for Tugger to pose on. And Tugger getting distracted by playing with his own tail!
Other fun results of the split track (and Tanto’s absence):
Lone Josh Cori gets to be extra friendly with other cats (including some lovely cuddles with Cass at the start of "Moments of Happiness")
Rumpelteazer singing “Moonlight” with only Cori to hold her hand (and just generally being In Touch With Her Mystic Side for the night)
Only the three central couples for the honky-tonk, no mungoteazer and coricomile (I had hoped Victoria might step in and dance with Cori but alas).
Rumpelteazer reaching out to Griz during “glamour cat” and being chased by Skimble into the corner and cuddled by him.
Victeazer collecting the rainbow ribbon bucket from Misto!
Instead of Misto freezing Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer during his number, he freezes Mungojerrie and Alonzo (Alonzo did not agree to this).
you know how, with new P&P, rumpelteazer doesn’t get to dive between the munkuthighs anymore? WELL FEAR NOT today she got to do it at the start of song of the jellicles instead. The balance of the world has been restored.
Without Tanto and Teazer to sit with him in front of the train, Misto had to pick his own flea out of his ear when Skimble mentioned the subject. 😔
best of all - I don’t know if this was planned or just Des being Des but part of Jemima’s track in Skimbleshanks was played by Tugger! He decided to lie down next to Vic to join the sleeping car, then flirted with her to create the “hilarity and riot” for Skimble to break up!
Fun things that had nothing to do with split tracks:
Munk was so relaxed about Deme and Tugger today! At one point where he usually hisses and lashes at Tugger to drive him away from her, he instead gave them each a lovely nuzzle.
Deme and Tugger spent almost the entirety of “Gus” doing some very warm loving nuzzles and cuddles ending up with her draped over his body, very pretty, very nice. 😌
… followed by Tugger nudging Misto during “Skimbleshanks” so that they both pounced on Deme to give her a scare on “one FLASH of his glass-green eyes”. But Deme was all trusting and cuddly by now and not skittish, so no harm done.
Edmetus was doing some lovely self-indulgent stretches using the oven as a scratching post at one point then MACAVITY SCARE and he fell over with zero dignity
Xavier went for some supersonic speed conjuring turns today!
Cori’s response to the second Macavity scare today was some impromptu aggressive yoga. Must have worked, since Macavity didn't turn up for another hour.
Cast is: Edward Smith (Admetus/Macavity), Rania Potaka-Osborne (Alonzo), Todd McKenney (Asparagus/Bustopher), Charlie Follows (Bill Bailey), Mia Dabkowski-Chandler (Bombalurina), Guy Pik (Carbuckety), Thalia Smith (Cassandra), Joshua Gordon (Coricopat), Dominique Hamilton (Demeter), Mark Vincent (Deuteronomy), Lucy Maunder (Grizabella), Aimee Jones (Jellylorum), Leigh Archer (Jennyanydots), Xavier Pellin (Mistoffelees), Jake O’Brien (Mungojerrie), Jarrod Draper (Munkustrap), Savannah Lind (Rumpelteazer/Jemima), Des Flanagan (Rum Tum Tugger), Tom Davis (Skimbleshanks), and Ella Fitzpatrick (Victoria).
Notes and curtain call 'Moonlight', Aussie tour 15/01/26
Well, turns out I was too busy looking at the stage to realise I hadn't actually tapped the 'film' button my phone properly for curtain call, soooo... have this instead? 😇
Rumpelteazer getting in touch with her mystic side, with the help only of Coricopat... (Savannah Lind and Joshua Gordon)
A similar cast line-up to yesterday (Wednesday): several of the same cast members are still out, and were on Sunday too, which is looking worrying. Once again, we had a Rumpelteazer/Jemima split track (Savannah), and an absent Tantomile. Tim Haskayne was back for Misto though, and Gabriyel was back for Griz... briefly! Aimee Jones swung on before Act I was over. And I got to see Tod Strike for the first time - apparently he exists! Ella was covering Victoria, Thalia Smith was Cassandra and Dominique was Demeter, and Lucy was back to her regular role of Jellylorum.
(This meant that by the interval, poor Joe Miller was sitting all alone in the swings booth. Personally I think they should let him out to cover Tantomile. Let the boy have his fun! Give Josh a twin!)
Despite this situation, everyone was still being playful and creative like yesterday. My seat was opposite those of my friends today (we were together yesterday, by accident!), so I had a great view when Tugger decided to favour one of them with his Gentle Attentions during his number.
(Des apologised blushingly afterward at stage door. Ed Smith did not stop to apologise for the indignities he visited upon an innocent penguin plushie - he had places to be.)
Stage door and audience interaction notes under the cut.
I had a small child one seat away from me on either side, which meant that (being in the front row) they got a lot of kitty attention: Cassandra, Bombalurina, and Jellylorum in particular. After 'Naming', Carbuckety came and lay down right across our feet to watch Victoria do her thing, before scampering up onstage for 'Invitation', which made one girl a little giggly and the other awestruck. Kiddo on the right was a big Rumpelteazer fan also - she and her mum were going through the programme before to find all the photos of her - so it was a good night for her!
We stage doored, and had some nice brief chats (plus quite a few autographs). Once again, Des was the one most inclined to hang around and talk - and once again, there were multiple people there who whispered 'wait, which cat is that? Tugger?? Seriously? That's Tugger??' because his gracious, slightly diffident charm in person is such a contrast to Tugger's brash energy. Tim and Jake and Jarrod mostly just signed, with a few friendly words (Misto, Jerrie, Munk). Lucy, Ella, Josh, Tom, Savannah, and Dominique stayed a little longer to exchange impressions about tonight's show (Jelly, usually-Jemima-but-Vic-today, Cori, Skimble, Rumpel, dance captain / today's Demeter).
There were a couple of unavoidable allusions to the absent cast members, without (of course) getting into any specifics about their health. Dominique hesitated over whether to sign over Demeter then decided to sign up the top of the group photo instead and leave Demeter 'for Olivia', with the implication that she might be back this week. Savannah made exhausted faces when I marvelled at her keeping her tracks straight in 'Song of the Jellicles', while Jake and Josh wryly accepted sympathies for looking so lonely up there without their usual partner in crime. In response to us saying that my two friends would be back several times this week and I'd be back on Sunday, Josh replied forlornly, "And maybe I'll have a twin by then...! I have to be weird all on my own."
(The implication here is that Sarah and at least one other of the girls might be better by then - if only Sarah was back, she'd cover Victoria, Ella would return to Jemima, and Tanto still wouldn't exist.)
And Aimee! Des was still there when Aimee Jones came out, but I had to turn away from the general conversation with him to congratulate her. She was still on a bit of a nervous high, I think, from a mid-show swing-on, and seemed surprised and gratified not only at being recognised and congratulated but to hear that I'd seen her Griz at the two Sydney previews ("So you were there for my first..!") Very sweet.
Back again on Sunday!
Cast:
Edward Smith as Admetus, Rania Potaka-Osborne as Alonzo, Todd McKenney as Gustopher, Charlie Follows as Bill Bailey, Mia Dabkowski-Chandler as Bombalurina, Guy Pik as Carbuckety, Thalia Smith covering Cassandra, Joshua Gordon as a lonely Coricopat,
Dominique Hamilton covering Demeter, Tod Strike covering Deuteronomy, Gabriyel Thomas as Grizabella until the end of 'Glamour Cat' and Aimee Jones covering from the Ball onwards, Lucy Maunder as Jellylorum, Leigh Archer as Jennyanydots, Timothy Haskayne as Mistoffelees, Jake O'Brien also being lonely as Mungojerrie, Jarrod Draper as Munkustrap, Savannah Lind as Rumpelteazer and Jemima, Des Flanagan as Tugger, Tom Davis as Skimbleshanks, and Ella Fitzpatrick covering Victoria.
A photo from Thalia Smith in honour of Swing Day yesterday, with all six of the Australia Tour Swings in action.
Thalia Smith as Bombalurina, Dominique Hamilton as Demeter, Aimee Jones as Jennyanydots, Xavier Pellin as Mistoffelees, Joe Miller as Munkustrap, and Tod Strike as Young Deuteronomy.
