Exclusive Interview with Lucy May Barker & Peter McCarthy: What's New About CATS China Tour

CATS is back to the Chinese mainland after 5 years’ away. 9 cities, 93 shows! Shanghai alone is hosting 21 performances. Peter McCarthy, Associate Musical Supervisor of CATS said there will be 28 "cats" in the cast this time. "We had a wonderful cast who had auditioned at the end of 2019. And then many of that cast did the European, Scandinavian tour, and some of them are now eventually gonna come and do this production in China. And we're so lucky that we have Lucy playing Grizabella this time." MEMORY LIVES AGAIN FULFILLING A CHILDHOOD DREAM British actress Lucy May Barker is going to cast Grizabella, the Glamour Cat. She also portrayed the infamous Rebekah Vardy in the smash-hit “VARDY V ROONEY: The Wagatha Christie Trial”, and played Sophie Sheridan in MAMMA MIA! As for how her journey with CATS began... "It was the first musical I ever saw. It started my love for musical theater, for theater. It's honestly the reason that I am doing it professionally today. So it's a real full circle moment for me to be able to play this amazing role in the show that first sparked my love for this." said Lucy May Barker. The British actress is realizing that "full circle moment" in China with the play from London, while also marking her first theater appearance in the country. “I'm so excited. I can't wait. My favorite thing is getting all of the costume on, all of the makeup, and that first moment when you walk out onto the stage when you truly live being that character for the first time. You have all the ingredients finally. I think the fan base here is amazing, so excited and so enthusiastic about theater in general, actually. And I love that because really deep down, I'm just a huge musical theater fan as well.” To perform in such classic show, it's definitely a new challenge for her. "100%. Huge shoes to fill. My idols have played this role - Elaine Paige. Nicole Scherzinger, a very recent idol with all her amazing performances that she's been doing in musical theater. Joanna Ampil, who played it, I think, on the tour a few years ago. I saw her as Fantine in Les Misérables when I was 13. And I waited for her at stage door. So it's huge pressure, huge responsibility, but I'm ready for it." READY FOR THE VARIETY "That's such an interesting aspect of the show because there are so many different musical styles within the show. Almost each character has like their signature style and it might be something that's very classical in the style of Elgar or Vaughan Williams. And then there's something like Rum Tum Tugger that's like a rock and roll singer. And we have Skimbleshanks, whose character is the railway cat. So in the music of that, there's a very particular rhythmical style to kind of bring to our ear the sound of the train on the tracks. So we have to be very specific, not only when we're casting that people are capable of singing in different styles, but in rehearsals." said Peter McCarthy. It’s a show that’s been around for 43 years, with a simple plot - a tribe of cats who come together once a year to pick which cat amongst them will be reborn to a new Jellicle life and ascend to the Heaviside Layer. But the passion is still there. The first round tickets for the show in Shenzhen and Zhengzhou were already sold out. What's made the play so long lasting and successful is, Peter McCarthy says, "That theme, the theme of acceptance and tolerance, I think will always be relevant. And I think also the fact that the show has so many musical styles, I think that gives it a very wide appeal to many age ranges." "It's about the difference in humanity and celebrating those differences and about a community coming together to see, ultimately see the good rather than the bad. It's about not judging each other and celebrating each other's differences and to be Grizabella in that real learning moment for all of the cats, I think it's gonna be really special and very emotional, you know, to be the person that receives that hate and that judgment. And I think there's a lot to teach and a lot to learn." said Lucy May Barker. In today's diverse world, how should we define beauty, excellence or even a successful life? We need to embrace different answers cuz we are all different individuals. "CATS is more relevant than ever." said Lucy May Barker. Peter McCarthy adds that "That element of outsiders in society and acceptance and tolerance is always relevant. I think today more than ever." The "cats" are heading to the metropolitan of Shanghai next January, a city with 25 million residents in itself has so much diversity, and boasts this variety in its widely-known Haipai culture. And that British actress Lucy May Barker is going to for the first time perform the musical that started her theatrical dreams. And that’s going to happen in China.