This blog post was written for East Midlands Theatre
It’s 1924, and on a luxury yacht, Hollywood’s elite gather to celebrate the birthday of movie mogul Tom Ince. But just what do the stars of Hollywood’s golden age get up to on the high seas? Dancing, drugs, sex, and a little bit of murder… Lace Market Theatre’s latest production, “The Cat’s Meow”, written by Steven Peros, provides a speculative delve into one of Hollywood’s greatest mysteries, introducing us to an eclectic bunch of characters each with their own secrets and dirty desires.
English writer Elinor (Alison Hope) acts as our narrator for the piece, providing us with a useful introduction to our key characters and hinting from the outset that not all of the patrons onboard the yacht will make it out alive. Hope is excellent in the role, providing a good mix of dry wit and snide comments to make her narration incredibly enjoyable as well as helping us to get to grips with the plot. There are lots of characters here, and it can feel a little overwhelming to begin with, but with Hope guiding the way, you won’t get lost at sea.
The yacht is owned by Wiliam Randolph Hearst (Micah Darmola), an owner of a newspaper who is keen to impress Ince (Mark Anderson) and Ince’s business partner George Thomas (Will White). Darmola has a hidden rage, as Hearst struggles to stay in control of events circling round him, whilst Anderson is likeable if a little sleazy as a married man who happily engages in an affair with actress Margaret Livingstone (Ksenia Tsymbal). Tsymbal portrays Livingstone as a little naïve, at odds with Holly Cooke’s Marion Davies, another actress who is married to Hearst and definitely knows her own mind.
Hearst panics that his wife is having an affair with Charlie Chaplin (Jake Black), and this aspect of the plot really kicks up a notch in the second act, with some tense scenes between Darmola and Cooke. The tension is increased with the presence of Hearst’s looming right hand man Joseph Willicombe (Paul Spruce), who is more than happy to do Hearst’s bidding, no matter how underhand his dealings become. Add to this the fact that movie reviewer Lolly Parsons (Rosie Wallace) is sniffing round with her notepad and pen, and it is no wonder that Hearst is a man at the end of his tether.
The characters are all larger-than-life, and wear their hearts on their sleeve, which makes the plot easier to follow, but there are numerous characters that feel a little surplus to requirements. Despite being portrayed excellently by Chloe Davie and Chloe Martin, dancers Celia Moore and Didi Dawson offer some fun one-liners here and there but don’t really play into the plot, and Bernard Whelan’s Dr Goodman, along with his wife (Linda Hoyland), share some interesting scenes in the opening act but don’t have enough stage time to allow us to properly delve into their characters.
The second act seemingly dispatches a lot of the extra characters, and focuses more on the meat of the plot surrounding Chaplin, Hearst and Davies, and it is here that the play becomes more gripping and will have the audience enthralled with its numerous twists and turns. The tension is broken somewhat by some overly long blackouts between scenes, that slow down the play a little too much and could have been covered better with some incidental music.
Guy Evans’ black and white set design evokes the silent film era whilst also displaying the glamour that a luxury yacht requires, and the multiple levels allow for some interesting visuals. With such a big cast, it is Amy Bermudez’s lighting design that is the true standout, expertly highlighting certain characters to help focus our attention on a stage that is often very busy. Throughout the play, there are several occasions where the action is split into three separate smaller scenes all occurring at the same time, and sometimes too much movement from actors in the background can drag the attention away from those that are speaking, meaning that we can miss some important bits of dialogue.
Despite being a fairly short play (1 hour 45 minutes), there is enough breathing room to allow the plot to really land, and a helpful epilogue from Hope (who is criminally underused in the second act) tells us exactly what is true about this story, and what is speculation, which will be enough to encourage people to go home and scour the internet for further clues to help solve this real-life mystery. The production could use a little polishing here and there (a sequence involving a Charleston would have benefitted from a little more choreography), but overall this is an admirable effort from director Charlotte Hukin, delivering a complex play with a fascinating plot at its heart. An elegant delve into the lavish lifestyle of Hollywood stars of yesteryear, with a plot that becomes increasingly darker as the play goes on.
Tom Morley, January 2026
Review Round-up:
Elemental Theatre – The Cat’s Meow Review – Tom from ETC was impressed with this production, calling it “an intriguing, talky, and thought-provoking play, brought to life by a committed cast and a creative team clearly invested in the material”
Kev Castle Theatre Reviews – The Cat’s Meow – Kev also gives a thoroughly positive write-up, particularly praising Black’s portrayal of Charlie Chaplin, saying “this play highlights what a b*****d [Chaplin] was behind the persona on screen”
Broken Legs Blog 