Whiskers, claws and applause: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats – in pictures
Since its debut in May 1981, the poetically inspired Cats has become one of the most popular stage shows in the world. Forty years on, here’s a look back at how the long-running musical began
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Elaine Paige as Grizabella, backstage at the New London theatre, Drury Lane, after the first preview of Cats. Paige took over from Judi Dench with a few days’ notice.
Photograph: PA
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Dench withdrew because she needed an operation on her Achilles tendon. Here she is visited by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in hospital.
Photograph: Bill Cross/Daily Mail/Rex/Shutterstock
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Andrew Lloyd Webber holds up the score of Cats on the roof of his apartment building in New York. The musical was based on the poetry collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by TS Eliot.
Photograph: Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images
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Finola Hughes (as Victoria), Paul Nicholas (Rum Tum Tugger) and Sarah Brightman (Jemima) backstage.
Photograph: Ilpo Musto/Alamy
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The original cast in rehearsals. The show was directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Gillian Lynne. It went on to win the Olivier and Tony best musical awards.
Photograph: Kenneth Saunders
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Bonnie Langford limbers up one hour before curtain up.
Photograph: Mike Maloney/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
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Langford, centre, as the ‘notorious’ Rumpelteazer.
Photograph: Mirrorpix/Getty Images
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Brian Blessed created the roles of Old Deuteronomy and Bustopher Jones.
Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock
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Kenn Wells, who played Skimbleshanks, the ‘railway cat’, in his dressing room.
Photograph: Getty Images
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Elaine Paige as Grizabella. She sang the show’s blockbuster number, Memory.
Photograph: Donald Cooper/Rex/Shutterstock
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The London production ran for 21 years.
Photograph: Donald Cooper/Rex/Shutterstock
