Cats?

So I was pleasantly surprised on Saturday when I was offered a free ticket to see Cats at the Badminton Theatre. I accepted with a smile, and a small pang of guilt…

Badminton Theatre itself is pretty nice. It’s the re-purposed badminton stadium from the 2004 Olympics. It’s not a fancy ‘posh’ theatre – it’s rather industrial, ‘modern’, efficient. A nice example of what can be done with ex-Olympic venues. More than ok. And accessible by metro, a short walk from Katehaki station.

Saturday night was almost a full house, with lots of international, expat types – I could hear English all around. The play itself was in English, and the theatre has Greek subtitles showing on electronic boards above the stage.

It was a London production – costumes great, set great, music great with a live orchestra (which I couldn't actually see, but I suppose one should believe them…). We had 15 eur seats, the ‘cheap seats’, but I could see and hear perfectly.

I had never seen Cats, I never really paid much attention – all I really knew was that it has been wildly popular, and has run continuously since the 1980s.

Here’s the thing: Cats is kind of dumb. It’s two+ hours of cats singing. Literally. It’s one song after another, each one about a different type of cat – the sneaky cat, the funny cat, the lazy cat, etc….  No real story that I could follow, no drama, no resolution. Just cats. Singing.

My apologies to all those who love the story – and I’m no expert on musicals – but Cats just didn’t do it for me…

But hey, for a different night out in Athens, check out Badminton Theatre – there is sure to be a show that satisfies!

Badminton Theatre

www.badmintontheater.gr

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…