Macavity is a fictional character who is described in a poem in Old Possum's Book
of Practical Cats, by T. S. Eliot. He also appears in Cats, the Andrew Lloyd
Webber musical. Etymology of the name
The name Macavity is a triple pun by T. S. Eliot, the author of the poem, on
Macheath — a supervillain who appears both in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera,
its sequel Polly and roughly 200 years later as Mack the Knife in The
Threepenny Opera written by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill in 1928,
macuahuitl — the Aztec obsidian sword, and Moriarty — the surname of a
supervillain-scientist from the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle.
In the poem The poem Macavity the Mystery Cat is the
best known of Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, the only book Eliot
wrote for a younger audience. The poem is considered particularly suitable
reading for 11- and 12-year-olds. Macavity is a master criminal, but in
the poem he is too clever to leave any evidence of his guilt. There is a
resemblance with Professor James Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes
stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. In a letter to Frank Morley, Eliot wrote, "I
have done a new cat modeled on the late Professor Moriarty, but he doesn't seem
very popular; too sophisticated perhaps." Sherlock Holmes describes
Moriarty as "the Napoleon of Crime" in The Adventure of the Final Problem and a
"Napoleon gone wrong" in The Valley of Fear. Evidence that Macavity was based
on Moriarty was first presented by HT Webster and HW Starr, and later
rediscovered by Katharine Loesch. According to the poem, even when the
Secret Service decides that Macavity was behind a loss, they can't get him there
as "he's a mile away." Doyle wrote that Moriarty "is never caught" as at moment
of crime he probably is "working out problems on a blackboard ten miles
away". Macavity is described as being a ginger cat who is very tall and thin
with sunken eyes, and "sways his head from side to side with movements like a
snake". The poem also says: "His brow is deeply lined in thought, his head is
highly domed; His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed."
Once again, this description is a close parallel to that of Professor Moriarty:
"His appearance was quite familiar to me. He is extremely tall and thin, his
forehead domes out in a white curve, and his two eyes are deeply sunken in his
head...his face protrudes forward and is forever oscillating from side to side in
a curiously reptilian fashion." The poem accuses Macavity of
misbehaviour that would be within the capabilities of an ordinary cat, such as
stealing milk, but also holds him responsible for major crimes. He is
referred to as a "fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity" and has been
suspected of stifling Pekes, vandalism, theft, cheating at cards, espionage and
controlling an organised crime ring with Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer and
Griddlebone among the members. Holmes in Doyle's narrative describes Moriarty as
"the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this
great city." Webster and Starr assumed that Eliot
referred to the cases of Mr. Joseph Harrison and Herr Hugo Oberstein when he
wrote in the poem – "And when the Foreign Office finds a Treaty's gone
astray,/ And the admirality loses some plans and drawings by the way".
Macavity apparently possesses the mystical power of levitation, as he
"breaks the law of gravity". In the musical
Macavity is the only real villain in the musical Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who
kidnaps Old Deuteronomy, the Jellicle leader, and attempts to abduct Demeter,
one of two cats who sings about him. Lloyd Webber noted that "Macavity... is
obviously a take-off on Moriarty." The character was originally played by
Richard Pettyfer in the original West End production, by Kenneth Ard in the
Broadway production, and by Bryn Walters in the Cats film production.
Within the storyline of the musical, Macavity makes several attempts to scare
the tribe. This culminates in his abduction of Old Deuteronomy, after
which two queens, Bombalurina and Demeter, sing about him. He then returns
to attempt to abduct Demeter. Munkustrap and Alonzo come to her defence and, in a
dramatic cat fight, drive him off. As seen in the film production and most
stage performances, he appears to be capable of performing some form of
hypnosis. When Demeter and Bombalurina sing about him, they do so in a sensuous
manner, suggesting he is more familiar to them. The Macavity number develops
from a bluesy duet into a big female ensemble routine.
Macavity is typically depicted as a cat with a chaotic array of red, orange,
white, and sharp black stripes. He is often portrayed with very long claws and
wild dark hair. The role of Macavity is usually played by the same actor as
Admetus or Plato. His costume is ginger and white, and specifically includes a
simple make-up design that the actor transforms into the elaborate Macavity
make-up, and then re-applies after the featured scene. Admetus/Plato is also
often recognisable as one of the tallest cast members, as the fight scene between
Macavity and Munkustrap requires him to be able to lift other male dancers.
= Players = Bryn Walters
Drew Roelofs Ray Hogg
Darren Stack Blake Crist
Luca Giacomelli Coert Grobbelaar
Christopher Lamb Barnaby Ingram
Jordi Wortmann James Ginnever
Nathan Garland In popular culture
Mystery Readers International presents the Macavity Awards annually in several
categories, including Best Mystery Novel, Best First Mystery Novel, Best
Bio/Critical Mystery Work, Best Mystery Short Story. Former British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown, when still Chancellor of the Exchequer, was likened
to Macavity by Liberal Democrat Shadow Leader of the House, David Heath, who
labelled Brown "the Macavity of the Cabinet" when talking about tax credits
during Business Questions on 23 June 2005. Lord Turnbull echoed this two
years later, opining that "the chancellor has a Macavity quality. He is
not there when there is dirty work to be done." After Harold Pinter received the
2005 Nobel Prize in Literature, Mary Liddell of The Guardian said: "Pinter
has become the Macavity of English letters".
Polish author Maciej Wojtyszko's children's books feature a character
named Macavity the Cat, a criminal mastermind who loses a chess duel with
dog detective Kajetan Chrumps and is then persuaded to become Chrumps'
assistant. Gillian Robert's schoolteacher detective Amanda Pepper
has an elderly male companion cat whose métier seems to be relaxation. Following
books by Roberts feature Macavity the cat: Claire and Present Danger, Helen
Hath No Fury, Adam and Evil, The Bluest Blood, The Mummer's Curse, How I Spent
My Summer Vacation, In the Dead of Summer, With Friends Like These…, I'd
Rather Be in Philadelphia, Philly Stakes, Caught Dead in Philadelphia.
In 1995, New Jersey punk band Gimp released an album called Smiles for
Macavity. In the news
Macavity is the name given by several bus drivers from the West Midlands,
United Kingdom to a white odd-eyed cat which, since January 2007, has been
observed to regularly use the local bus service on its own. Macavity's fur is
reported to be completely white, he has a green left eye and a blue right eye,
and he wears a purple collar. His owner and true name are unknown. Commenting on
the mysterious cat, bus driver Bill Khunkhun commented:
Since January 2007, Travel West Midlands drivers on the number 331 Walsall to
Willenhall bus route have observed Macavity running to catch their bus at a
stop on Churchill Road near a row of 1950s semi-detached houses, two or three
times a week. He originally escaped attention by running underneath the
seats. After travelling some 400 metres, he routinely alights at the next stop,
located near a row of shops. The Daily Mail newspaper has speculated that his
possible destination could be a nearby fish and chip shop.
References External links