Linus Karp’s hilarious runaway success How to Live A Jellicle Life sold out its last two runs and is finally coming to Oxford.
Now it’s our turn to enjoy Linus’ hilarious one man parody celebrating one of the biggest cinematic flops of recent years CATS in his new show, which has received huge national acclaim.
‘How to live a jellicle life: life lessons from the 2019 hit movie musical ‘CATS’‘ hits Oxford’s Old Fire Station on January 14.
So how did Linus transform his obsession with Cats The Musical into such a big hit? “I watched CATS in the cinema early 2020 and became OBSESSED. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and went back to see it again after a few days,” he explains. “CATS took over my brain so I started creating a show.
“I don’t think I could’ve made a show about anything else to be honest. Whatever I tried doing in my normal life took a jellicle turn,” he explains.
“It was important to me as a queer foreigner to put my own identity into the show – and create something that was as queer as possible”
“And it was so good to have a creative output to put my energy into during lockdown! With the world feeling so horrible I wanted to create something that was the polar opposite of 2020 – a show that offered funny, silly, stupid escapism where people could connect and experience something together.
“It was also important to me as a queer foreigner (Linus is Swedish but lives in London) to put my own identity into the show – and create something that was as queer as possible.
So what can we expect? “A show that provides a jellicle discussion about the jellicle aspects of the jellicle cats in ‘Cats’ and how you can apply them to your life in order to make it truly jellicle. Expect jellicle laughs, jellicle ‘dance’, a very jellicle PowerPoint presentation, and, according to The Guardian, “too many penis jokes”.”
“when you create something you really love and find funny, which is very personal, an audience sees that and its passion and humour is infectious”
Linus’ last show, his much talked about debut “Awkward Conversations With Animals I’ve F*cked”, was similarly lauded, but bear in mind How to live a jellicle life comes with a 16+ age guidance attached.
So what was it like to produce another successful show straight off the bat? “I was so scared and worried that the show would be seen as too niche or weird,” Linus admits, “so the fact that the response has been so positive is just amazing.”
What do people love do you think that sets him apart? “A word people often use to describe the show is “unique”. I think that when you create something you really love yourself, and find funny, which weirdly is also very personal, an audience will see that and the passion and humour of it is infectious,” he adds.
“You don’t have to have seen CATS to enjoy or understand the show, you just have to be up for a good time.”
And he knows that Oxford is! “I love Oxford – it almost doesn’t feel like a real city, it looks almost too filmic to be real so to visit the city for the first time since pre-covid will be such a joy!”
‘How to live a jellicle life: life lessons from the 2019 hit movie musical ‘cats’‘ hits Oxford’s Old Fire Station on January 14. https://oldfirestation.org.uk/whats-on/how-to-live-a-jellicle-life-life-lessons-from-the-2019-hit-movie-musical-cats/
