Carbucketty

Carbucketty is an ensemble character in the musical Cats. He is usually portrayed as a mischievous tom kitten, with the role primarily being that of a dancer and acrobat.

The character originated in the London production, but has been renamed Pouncival in many subsequent productions.

Personality
"Acrobatic, Energetic, Accident-prone"

- Three Words

Carbucketty is usually portrayed as a young, troublesome, fun-loving kitten. He is often seen causing trouble or messing about with the other kittens such as Bill Bailey, Electra, and Etcetera.

In "The Old Gumbie Cat", Carbucketty is seen trouble-making while dressed up as a beetle. During Grizabella's first entrance, Carbucketty - egged on by Bill Bailey and Admetus - tricks her into coming close to him so that he can scratch her. He bullies Grizabella again during her second entrance, this time pushing her.

Carbucketty is sometimes played older in productions that include both him and Pouncival. For example, Giuseppe Bausilio specified that in the Broadway revival, Carbucketty is a teenage cat whereas Pouncival is the young kitten. Even then, Carbucketty was still depicted as one of the more mischievous and immature characters who wasn't taken seriously by the other cats.

Etymology
The name "Carbucketty" was invented by T S Eliot for a "knockabout cat".

Role
"Dancer with very good classical ballet training. Confident baritone to F. Youthful and not too tall."

- Casting Calls

Carbucketty is principally a dance role, with the performer also usually being a strong acrobat. His dancing is featured quite prominently during the "Jellicle Ball". He also typically plays the lead Pollicle in "The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles".

The character appeared in both the original London and Broadway productions. In 1987 however, the Broadway show was reworked to remove the "trash puppet" versions of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, and the character was replaced by an ensemble Mungojerrie. The actor who played Mungojerrie after the show was reworked, Ray Roderick, had played Carbucketty for over a year prior.

The actor playing Carbucketty is usually the first understudy for Mistoffelees, and so is a strong ballet dancer as well as being able to pull off a mischievous kitten.

Australian Carbucketty
In most Australian style productions, Carbucketty was an occasional chorus cat/on-stage swing of variable costume design. When the London revival changes were imported in 2015 however, Carbucketty was added as a full, understudied character, in addition to Pouncival. However, Pouncival retained all of his original featured dance parts and character, while Carbucketty became the sixth member of Growltiger's crew, effectively switching the names from the London revival roles.

Appearance
Carbucketty is a small, scruffy, Tabby and White kitten, with gold/brown/black stripes and hatching on a pale base. The initial design for the Broadway production's Pouncival was a separate design from Carbucketty. While having a similar appearance to Carbucketty, Pouncival lacked the clear chest stripes and had a looser, greyer colour palette. The Broadway production used the "George" design for Carbucketty.

Since the 1998 film used the name Pouncival but the costume for Carbucketty, it has become common for productions to do likewise and use Carbucketty's stronger design for the role named Pouncival.

Fandom
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