Cats revival to tour in 2026

Cats will be heading out on tour next year.

The show will first open in London for a limited season, which we have detailed here. After that, it will embark on a major tour, with the initial seven listings confirmed today.

Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on T S Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. It premiered in London’s West End in 1981 and on Broadway in 1982, becoming one of the longest-running shows in both cities. The musical follows the Jellicle Cats, who gather at the Jellicle Ball to choose one cat to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn. A 2019 film adaptation followed.

Directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie, the tour is produced by Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals. Harrison said today: “I am delighted that we will be presenting a brand new production of Cats next summer. Drew is an outstanding artist and it has long felt destined that he would one day reinvent this great musical.

“Andrew and I are excited to be working with him and his team at Regent’s Park, and we look forward to the Jellicle Moon shining brightly on this thrilling new production in the splendour of the Open Air Theatre and at major theatres across the country as part of the new UK tour.”

A separate production is also currently slated to open on Broadway next year.

Tour dates are available below – and find out more about the London run here. On-sale dates for tour dates will be revealed in due course.