Touching, hilarious and deeply personal. This is a show that covers all the feelings! Steven Wilson’s one-man show is a hilariously poignant journey into one man’s aversion to cats and hugs.

His personification of the various cats he has encountered in his life is a masterclass in accents and fabulous facial expressions, as each cat tries desperately to get Steven to pat them. He cleverly links his dislike and distrust of cats back to his own story of an unpleasant (to say the least) father and his growth as a parent himself. The lovely ending of a montage of father/son photographs shows that this actor is all about sending a message to his audience. Love and affection conquer all in the end, and we should be trying one of the seven different hugs daily that we humans have developed.

The show is a straightforward, but effective slide show of images of Steven and his family, and, of course, the ever-present cats. As a cat lover myself, my friend and I were immensely amused by his hatred for our furry friends, and instead of being appalled by his cat “horror” stories, we thought they were adorable!

Steven has a fast-paced delivery with the comedic moments coming thick and fast, but when the story takes a deep dive into his traumatic past and growing father/son dynamic, he slows down and lets us share his pain. It was not a large audience, but it was fully engaged, and our emotions travelled with Steven on the ups and downs of his touching (both physical and literal) story.

There was a beautiful simplicity in the staging. One man with a clicker, who stands and tells a story, he is an Everyman, one who reminds us all that a hug is a powerful thing indeed. But he’s still not keen on cats!

Definitely get a ticket to see this lovely show if you enjoy a beautiful story that makes you think about the last time you gave, or received, a heartfelt hug.