Katzenmusik, at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory

Katzenmusik is a German word that translates as caterwaul, the shrill howling or wailing noise of a cat.

And this is a story about the slaughter of 85 moggies, the end result of exploitation by greedy landlords.

It is a disturbing, darkly comedic yarn about social divide from British playwright Tom Fowler, revealed in extraordinary fashion by theatre company Paracosm. 

Photos by Alec Farrow

Seven actors play 77 roles over dozens of short scenes in three acts, with events moving backwards in time.

Some characters return. Others do not.

The format is like a patchwork quilt. Through it, we, the audience, gradually piece together the various threads.

The events take place in a fictitious working-class town called Burnside.

Jackie Williams, who was known to hit the bottle, has died and the circumstances around her death are mirky.

She lived in a rundown apartment and had health issues.

Neither of these was satisfactorily addressed.

Maureen Lammond lives in the same, large block of flats and has similar issues. Inside her apartment, it is bitterly cold and she has developed a terrible cough. 

Her son, Jamie, who has been unemployed since the car plant shut down, is appalled that her landlord, Keith Norris, hasn’t fixed the heating.

So, he takes matters into his own hands.

He acts impetuously and faces the consequences of doing so.

Still, his act is the catalyst for further action by a student activist and Jackie Williams’ brother, Connor that will see the mass killing of cats in town.

Not surprisingly, it is not something Burnside can readily brush aside, although the Mayor is keen to move on.

Katzenmusik is a kind of whodunnit that drew me in and held me tightly throughout.

I was genuinely excited by what I was seeing. 

I was very impressed by how well the actors were able to readily switch from character to character, from one scene to the next, so seamlessly.

Performers Georgina Barley, Kyle McCallion, Tyrie Aspinall, Grace Gemmell, Gabrielle Ward, Hugo Gutteridge and Julia Johnson were believable in their multiple guises.

It mattered not whether they were one of the major players or a vet, a doctor, police, footballers, a radio host, reporters, an employment advisor, clubbers, or others.

I readily bought into what the cast was “selling” and yearned to know more.

With director Chris Patrick Hansen at the helm, Katzenmusik is strong, affecting and compelling theatre.

It is excellent production that benefits greatly from Hansen’s sound design, be that birds tweeting, or the five o’clock swill in a pub, or the thunder of a train.

Each scene is signposted with subtitles that appear electronically above the makeshift framework of a thinly built apartment, that forms Hansen’s set design.

Spot lighting by Jacques Cooney Adlard, who is also responsible for the vision design, is most effective, as, on occasions, characters appear in unexpected places. 

Katzenmusik is a super piece of work and undoubtedly among Theatre Works' finest offerings, which I would highly recommend.

It requires concentration to follow, but that effort is well rewarded.

Ninety minutes without interval, it is on at Theatre Works’ Explosives Factory until 13^th June, 2026.