RUSSIA: MOSCOW: PERFORMING CATS THEATRE

(28 Jan 1998) Russian/Nat
Forget Cats the musical.
Russia has its very own Cats theatre -- featuring a cast of 120 feline acrobats.
The show is a big hit - especially with youngsters - and though the stars may be temperamental - their salaries are low.
This is Russia's equivalent to the world famous Cat's musical - just taken a little more literally.
The Cats theatre in Moscow -- where furry felines are trained to perform like humans, much to the delight of the Muscovite audience.
These tricks might look pale in comparison to a performing canine -- but anyone who knows cats knows how difficult it is to make a cat do anything it doesn't want to.
Not so for Yuri Kuklachev -- a man who has found a way to master the cat psychology.
Don't believe for a minute that Russian cats are any more cooperative than their foreign cousins.
Kuklachev should know -- he's been performing with them for over 20 years.
SOUNDBITE: (Russia)
"I started with the cats quite by chance. Back in 1971 I picked up a kitten from the street. And seeing him playing gave me an idea to do stage tricks - and so we started."
SUPER CAPTION: Yuri Kuklachev, Cats theatre director and showman
Now "Kuklachev's Theatre" -- as it widely known in Russia -- has 120 permanent feline artistes.
Kuklachev used to pick up strays from the streets but nowadays most of his artistes are bred by him.
Even Russia's volatile political climate has done little to curtail the cat's antics.
Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev loved cats just as much as the current mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov.
Russians as a whole are pretty partial to cats.
Crammed into tiny apartments in the capital, Russian families often can't afford a dog - but there is almost always enough space for a cat.
A Russian superstition has it that the owner of new house should let their cat enter first - or risk the consequences.
SOUNDBITE: (Russian)
"The cat is a very playful species. It is a natural born acrobat and performer. The difficult part is to convince the cat to show it when you want it -- not when they want."
SUPER CAPTION: Yuri Kuklachev, Cats theatre director and showman
It can take hours to convince a cat to walk along a narrow pole - one small slip could be catastrophic.
And convince is the word - cats never submit to force.
SOUNDBITE: (Russia)
"There one basic rule -- never offend the cat. It is very proud, very dignified animal.If you offended the cat once, it will remember it through the rest of his life."
SUPER CAPTION: Yuri Kuklachev, Cats theatre director and showman
These cats, like human performers can be very temperamental - but lap up applause and enjoy taking a bow for an appreciative audience.

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