WHILE mum's away the cat will play.

And this funny feline, with an unique taste in red and white-striped head gear, plays very hard indeed.

Dr Seuss, the Pullitzer Prize winning author, had a vivid vision and imagination.

He also had a mission to make people read more - children and adults alike.

Like Roald Dahl, his literary legacy can be seen on stage adaptations across the world.

Here, Curve in Leicester and the Rose Theatre in Kingston in association with the National Centre for Circus Arts let the Cat out of the bag again, so to speak.

Here an energetic cast of six under director Suba Das bring fast-paced madness, mayhem and creative anarchy to the Playhouse for just one week.

Nana Amoo-Godffreid is the magic trick-obsessed Cat dressed in a superb costume.

He plays the enigmatic anti-hero with the right balancing act of mystery and charm.

His assistants in rhyme are the ultra-acrobatic Thing 1 (Celia Francis) and Thing 2 (Robert Penny).

They provide plenty of eye-opening routines and when they are chased through the aisles the young adults whooped it up.

After an initial slow start the action picked up in the suburban home setting where Sally (Melissa Lowe) and Boy (Sam Angell) are getting bored with playing and want to do some serious messing around.

Both actors are skilled at slapstick and their water pistol assault on the audience proved a hit as did their indoor kite flying.

Completing the line-up of crazy characters is Fish (Charley Magalit) who arrived on a roll ... a huge see-through ball with a backdrop of dry ice and bubbles.

Children lapped up the visual treats on offer and joined in with the various participation bits.

The music may not be of the hum on the way out variety, but it provides a modern touch to this work created in 1957.

Following the interval (where we all needed to catch our collective breaths) the action was even more cleverly chaotic and cartoon-like.

There's a message in this lively production ... 'be yourself.'

Oh, and you can't beat a good book - the Cat says so and you don't want to argue wth him.

Furry Good Fun.

Four stars.

The shows Liverpool Playhouse run ends on Saturday

Tickets from the box office on 0151 709 4776.