Moscow Cats Theatre

Programming / Circus

I know that the circus has a horrible reputation right now – especially the old-fashioned circus, the one with the animals, it’s mean and all, and all and all, what a lalala song .
I’m not going to argue.

But I notice that when you are familiar with an animal species, you will not react the same way. For example, I have never had a lion at home, let alone an elephant, and especially not a hippopotamus: but what would you want me to do with these animals? So I don’t know anything about these animals, what they like, how they live with humans, but no, I know nothing – and I don’t want to know either, no there won’t be an elephant in my house.
On the other hand, dogs and cats, I can see quite well the kind of relationship a human can have with them.
I don’t doubt for a second that it is possible to perform a circus act with dogs, and I’m sure they have fun doing it.

On the other hand, cats…. I don’t know if money calls money – one day I’ll play the lottery and tell you that – but I do know that cats call cats.
You get one to entertain the kids and years later you end up with a kind of colony that is very comfortable in its own home and unfortunately it’s in yours too.

In the end, one could say that the roles are reversed: cats take an infinite amount of time and patience to train their humans correctly: I scratch once, you open the door. I know it’s a bit difficult, henchman, but make an effort. It’s good that you managed to open the door.
I stand in front of the bowl, you fill the bowl.
I get into the bed, you don’t move – I said don’t move.

Anyone who has had a cat in his life knows this. He knows the difficulties, sometimes, with the neighborhood – who can explain why the neighbor gets in that strange state when you put natural fertilizer in her flowers and when you thank her for remembering to take the chicken out to cool off? He knows the slightly annoyed impatience of the cat waiting for him to do something, because it’s raining outside – what good are these humans who can’t even stop the rain?

As a result, no one, but no one, can assume that a cat is mistreated to perform in a circus.
Everyone knows that in this case, as soon as the cat is free, it will run away very, very fast and very, very far away – the veterinary moment is unforgettable for those who thought that we could do whatever we wanted with a cat.

This is what, I think, makes the huge success of these circus artists who managed (but how did they do this?) to make their cats do acts.
What a fortune in chicken do they spent? and even that wouldn’t be enough.

I chose this video, because the artist is so … like us in his relationship with this strange and authoritative animal that is the cat. And yet, he has managed – they have, it’s a whole little troupe from Moscow – to put cats on stage.

They even made quite a lot of emulators, since they walked their numbers almost everywhere in the world and now we see blooming heaps of artists with cats

In a word, here is a circus company for which I do not ask myself any question in term of filling of room: as soon as appeared, as soon as full.
It’s true, it’s not a beautiful, refined and somewhat intellectual circus, which makes us think about? things that I can’t think about because it’s so high.

No, no, this is a very vintage circus – they do it as a family, the Kuklachyov family – the father founded the theatre after leaving the Soviet state circus, the children took over and it continues in the family. They still like the huge make-up and the big red noses, and then the eye-popping colors and the drum rolls. On that point I can’t say anything, they are not at all so sleek and high tech and deep and spiritual.
On the other hand, they are downright efficient – and your whole room opens big round eyes: how do their cats do so much, while ours spend their lives sleeping? and grumbling?

And for the virtual Sweet Reality experiences, I guarantee you an unforgettable success.

Here is their website : Moscow Cats Theatre

I admit that in Russia people are mean, houlaaa, they make cats work – the Hermitage Museum is guarded and protected by a whole armada of museum cats – what an incredible idea!

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Featured Image : from the Moscow Cats Theatre.

Maybe there’s one thing you don’t know about this subject: all these animals facing the public, they need to be taught to meet a real audience. We did it here for a company that wanted to put a dog on stage – for 3 weeks we all imitated the audience, the clapping, the yelling, the people standing up: a disaster at the beginning, the dog would bark at us as soon as we demonstrated a little.
And after 3 weeks, the dog had learned.
The day of the premiere, during the show, everything went very well.
But when the audience tried to leave the room – impossible, it was a sheepdog:”you stay in your place, you don’t move”. He had identified the behavior of the herd, and the herd did not leave like that, all at the same time, all to the same place. It’s a hard job, the show.