The Shrine to George and Victor
Steven Wayne and Neil Reynolds as George and Victor.
George and Victor are characters from Cats, almost exclusively seen in the London production. They weren't featured in the video so many fans of the show have never heard of them. When I found out about them, I tried to spot them when I saw the show live, though I got them and Admetus confused for a while. Then I thought they deserved some recognition, as does Steven Wayne, who played George for 13 of his 19 years in the London show.
About George
In the London production he was a young, whitish-grey, stripy cat with black and brown eye-patches. He has also appeared in the Helsinki and Oslo productions, as Yrjö and Flattpott. In the video the character of Admetus (who becomes the Rumpus Cat, played by Frank Thompson) has similar costume and make-up patterns to George, though he is totally grey. As such, it seems he was a stand-in for George, who probably wasn't officially there as a courtesy to Steven Wayne, who also wasn't there, because at that time he'd played the character for 11 years.
In London George originally sang Old Deuteronomy with Quaxo and Munkustrap, but later became a quieter chorus cat. He said The Naming of Cats to audience members on the left-hand side of the dress circle, was the first cockroach to appear in the Beetles' Tattoo and sang the line "Jellicle Cats develop slowly" with Munkustrap and Admetus. He did the Mating Dance with Victoria, played one of Growltiger's pirates and was a good friend of Victor. In later years the actor playing George also played the Rumpus Cat, which Alonzo later took over.
John Chester was the first to play George in the original London production in 1981. Steven Wayne originally played a kitten, was later named Admetus, played Mungojerrie in 1986 and took over the role of George from June 1987 until 21st October 2000. When he left the show, George officially retired from the Drury Lane junkyard, or, as Mr. Wayne put it, "ceased to exist".
and Victor
In the London show he was a young white and grey-blue/black cat. He has also appeared in the Norwegian production, named Kvasaru, in the Australian Tent Tour and the World tour.
In London he could be seen in The Naming of Cats at the right-hand end of the back rows of the dress circle. Hhe and Admetus were the ones to tell Carbucketty to scratch Grizabella, twice, in Act 1 and then Victor chased her off himself when she appeared during The Jellicle Ball. He played one of Growltiger's pirates and the actor playing Victor understudied Munkustrap, the Rum Tum Tugger, Gus and Growltiger.
He was not in the original production, where there were four nameless kittens. Admetus and Bill Bailey were the first extra male cats to appear in a cast list, and Victor was then added a year or two after the show began.
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Cats brochure image copyright © The Really Useful Group and Dewynters. Thanks to Carbucketty and Jemima for information.