THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by TS Eliot
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Inner Circle, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4NU until September 19, 2026
The current hit production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Palladium was first seen at the Open Air Theatre (in 2016) as was last summer’s mega hit Evita (which began here in 2019). The trend continues this year with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s juggernaut Cats being reinvented and reinvigorated by the acclaimed choreographer-director Drew McOnie, who is now in his second year as Artistic Director here.
The season is practically sold out, and a large UK tour is already booked starting in Plymouth in October right through to June 2027, so the gold-plated success of this show continues. When it opened in the West End in 1981 it broke new ground for musicals being not just sung-through but danced-through. It ran for 21 years. On Broadway it opened in 1982, won 7 Tonys and ran for 18 years. Tours of it were seen in 300 cities across 30 countries.
Presuming to improve on it was daring, but McOnie has pulled it off in a polished and fluid triumph of staging. He’s taken Gillian Lynne’s original feline writhing, which fused ballet, modern dance and jazz and had a very ‘70s TV vibe about it, and has infused it with a more modern dance sensibility, adding some beautiful detailing which elevates the material.
McOnie describes the piece as a “choreo-poem” or a concept album rather than a traditional musical and he has a point as it’s very thin indeed in terms of an understandable plot. It’s not abstract enough for modern dance but fatally lacks the strong narrative that typifies great musical theater. This inhibits the audience’s engagement with the very many characters who appear. There was no ‘book writer’ as such and all are based on fragments from TS Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.
What plot there is revolves the troupe of ‘Jellicle cats’ firstly explaining how they received their names informing us that later that night their Chief Elder, Old Deuteronomy (Melanie La Barrie), will choose one cat to be reborn. One by one they’re then introduced to us as if in a series of variety turns.
We get to meet Gus the theater cat, played by panto veteran Gary Wilmot in fruity theatrical mode, and there’s some crowd stopping street dance from Jet Yau as Mr Mistoffelees. Among the others who impress are Jaydon Vijn as the raffish Rum Tum Tugger channeling a mix of Jagger and Bowie, Elliot Broadfoot as the posh and portly Bustopher Jones, and a killer duo by Mungojerrie (Danny Nattrass) and Rumpleteazer (Briana Craig) whose number could be dubbed Fosse-esque in its sleek complexity. A particular highlight is the almost 10 minute ‘Jellicle Ball’ sequence, which tests this wonderfully athletic ensemble to its limits.
Master tunesmith that he is, Lloyd Webber has the audience leaving humming with Mr Mistoffelees being clearly audible as I exited. Among his eclectic musical sources in Cats are obviously rock and swing but also jaunty music hall, with diversions into Rodgers style cod Orientalism – there’s even a hint of Henry Mancini in ‘Macavity’.
As sensual as a balmy evening in the Open Air might be, this production only comes into its own once darkness has fallen. Jessica Hung Han Yung’s lighting on ‘Macavity’ for example is a standout. Likewise, Sami Fendall’s design – all gigantic, rusted iron overlaid with a large harvest moon plus a touch of added pyrotechnics – has more impact once the sun has gone down. Her costumes and wigs are exceptionally distinctive too, fusing elegance with a witty grunginess.
On press night we had a 42nd Street moment when the star was indisposed and young Taziva-Faye Katsande, not long out of drama school, went on as Grizabella, who gets to belt THAT song – ‘Memory’. A little awkward in her movement perhaps but she certainly has the vocal power for this iconic barnstormer, earning herself a mid-show standing ovation.
