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Theatre director has kittens over Tiffany’s felines
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent23 Sep 2009
When theatre director Sean Mathias embarked on bringing Breakfast at Tiffany's to the stage there were two crucial questions.
Would Holly Golightly, as played by Anna Friel, sing Moon River as Audrey Hepburn did in the 1961 film? And would they have a real cat to play the animal Holly eventually shoos away?
The answer to the first dilemma, we can reveal, is no. Friel does not strum a guitar and sing the song as it was impossible to get the rights to the Henry Mancini classic. “And it isn't in Truman Capote's original book,” Mathias said.
Mathias said: “You can have heart attacks with animals. They can upstage the actors terribly. But you have to have the cat. It's so important in the book.”
Two cats were secured from Liz Thornton, of A1 Animals, who trains a range of animals for performance.
Mathias is pinning his hopes on Jasper being fit for the critics on Tuesday.
Ms Thornton admitted Jasper, 14, was the seasoned performer, with a CV including the film Children of Men. “He's fearless. Experience counts,” she said.
Breakfast at Tiffany's is booking until 9 January at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.
