To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the musical CATS is returning to Australian stages.
In July of 1985, after soaring popularity in Britain at the New London Theatre, CATS made its Australian premiere at the Theatre Royal Sydney.
To kick off this new 2025 production, the musical will open again at the Theatre Royal Sydney from 17 June. After, the show will move to Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide, then Crown Theatre in Perth, before closing at Hamer Hall Arts Centre in Melbourne.
From legendary English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, CATS was adapted from a 1939 poetry collection “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by T.S. Eliot. The musical follows a tribe of junkyard felines known as the Jellicle Cats, who gather for their annual Jellicle Ball. Together with the Cats’ leader, Old Deuteronomy, they choose a cat to be reborn into life in the Heaviside Layer.
‘CATS is a legendary show… A sparkling fusion of music, dance and verse, it was revolutionary when it first opened and enticed new audiences into the world of musical theatre,’ said John Frost from Crossroads Live.
CATS has a collection of well-loved songs, including Memory, The Rum Tum Tiger, Macavity, and Old Deuteronomy.
Local Charlie Follows, who is this new production’s ensemble, remarks that his own favourite song is the opener to the musical.
‘This cast is so talented. I remember the first time we sat down together and sung the opening song, my jaw was on the floor,’ explained Charlie. ‘The opening song is just so exciting and high energy.’
Hailing from Mt Ku-ring-gai and having gone to school at Ku-ring-gai High, from an early age Charlie was a performer. As a boy, Charlie was a gymnast, then went into cheerleading before starting ballet. Eventually, Charlie enrolled at Brent Street Theatre and is in his second year of a Musical Theatre course.
Selected to be in the ensemble, Charlie is ecstatic that of all the productions, the groundbreaking CATS is his debut.
‘It’s the 40th anniversary of CATS in Australia… that alone just shows how timeless and classic this musical is… even still today people want to watch,’ said Charlie. ‘The awesome thing with CATS is each character is individual and specific. Every time you get a cast of people in this show, the range in terms of performers is so broad and each show is so incredibly unique.’
For more information about this 2025 production of CATS at www.catsthemusical.com.au
