CATS is based on “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by TS Elliot, one of the 20th century’s major poets.

One special night each year the tribe of Jellicle Cats hold the Jellicle Ball, a night when their leader, Old Deuteronomy, chooses a Jellicle Cat to travel to the Heaviside Layer and be “reborn” into a new life.

Cats has been updated but it still retains its compelling identity. The scenic junkyard design, seamlessly joins the audience, enhancing the immersive show where cats dance and sing throughout the aisles.

Grizabella is the glamour cat who, having moved away from the tribe to explore the outside world, now wants to return. But she does not receive a warm welcome.

Marianne Benedict’s performance as Grizabella is outstanding. She captures each nuance of the character. Her rendition of Memory in Act 2 was mesmerising and goose bump-inducing.

Cats is definitely a show for young and old alike. My two children, aged 7 and 3, were spellbound by the immersive nature of the show and particularly loved Shiv Rabheru’s Mr Mistoffelees. This show really is the cat’s whiskers!

Katie Reeves

Cats at the Mayflower, Southampton.