Overview
Melbourne, it's time to get the word "Jellicle" stuck in your head — again. To mark 40 years since it first hit the stage in Australia, Cats announced in 2024 that it would perform a new season Down Under in 2025. Originally the show was just headed to Sydney, but now the Victorian capital will also get the feline-fancying experience, as will Adelaide.
Back in July 1985, Aussie audiences initially experienced Andrew Lloyd Webber's acclaimed production, which turned a tale inspired by poems from TS Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats into an award-winning theatre hit. The place: Sydney, aka where Cats is heading again from June 2025. After that, however, it'll play Adelaide's Her Majesty's Theatre from September, then Hamer Hall at Arts Centre Melbourne from December.
Four decades ago, the show pranced and prowled through Theatre Royal Sydney — so it's fitting that the new season will premiere there, scampering across the venue's boards again, too.
"Cats is a legendary show that I've admired for over 40 years. 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 producer John Frost for Crossroads Live about the new Aussie performances.
"I can't wait to bring the original production of Cats back to Australia to celebrate its 40th anniversary, not only to Theatre Royal Sydney where it all began, but also to Adelaide and Melbourne. Australia has an enduring love for Cats and it's time to let the memory live again."
If you're new to Cats, it spends its time with the Jellicle cat tribe on the night of the Jellicle Ball. That's the evening each year when their leader Old Deuteronomy picks who'll be reborn into a new Jellicle life by making the Jellicle choice. And yes, "Jellicle" is uttered frequently.
Of late, audiences might be more familiar with Cats as a movie. In 2019, the musical made the leap from stage to screen with a star-studded cast including Idris Elba (Hijack), Taylor Swift (Amsterdam), Judi Dench (Belfast), Ian McKellen, (The Critic) James Corden, (Mammals) Jennifer Hudson (Respect), Jason Derulo (Lethal Weapon), Ray Winstone (Damsel) and Rebel Wilson (The Almond and the Seahorse) playing singing, scurrying street mousers. If you ever wanted to see Swift pouring cat nip on a crowd of cats from a suspended gold moon, or were keen to soothe your disappointment over the fact that Elba hasn't yet been James Bond by spotting him with whiskers, fur and a tail, this was your chance.
For its efforts, the Tom Hooper (The Danish Girl)-directed film picked up six Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture. But while the movie clearly didn't hit the mark, you can see why this feline-fancying musical has been such a huge theatre hit when it makes its Aussie stage comeback.
Cats 2025 Australian Tour
From Tuesday, June 17, 2025 — Theatre Royal Sydney
From September 2025 — Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide
From December 2025 — Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne
Cats will tour Australia from June 2025. Head to the musical's website to further details and to sign up for the Melbourne ticket waitlist.
Images: Alessandro Pinna.