Drew McOnie’s reimagined staging of Cats has won over critics at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, with reviews so far ranging from a strong four stars down to a still-warm three. Reviewers agree that stripping the show back to its dancing and darkness has restored real magic to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most eccentric musical.
Directed and choreographed by Regent’s Park Artistic Director Drew McOnie, this non-replica production reworks TS Eliot’s story of the Jellicle cats gathering for their annual ball, where matriarch Old Deuteronomy must choose one among them to ascend to a new life. Both reviews so far single out a rich vein of talent across the company, and a genuine star-is-born moment from covering performer Taziva-Faye Katsande as Grizabella.
The verdict: A sleek, dance-driven revival that leans into the show’s strangeness rather than fighting it — critics call it a triumphant rescue after the 2019 film, even if several feel it can drag as an extended revue with no narrative through-line.
| Publication | Rating | The Key Takeaway |
| WhatsOnStage | ★★★★ | A magical, lyrical, dance-driven revival, enchanting in the Regent’s Park setting |
| The Telegraph | ★★★★ | A sleeker, darker Cats that repairs the damage done by the 2019 film |
| The Independent | ★★★ | A whimsical, well-performed delight for existing fans, tougher going for newcomers |
| Time Out | ★★★ | A decent, refined production that doesn’t reinvent the show or find new depth |
| The Stage | ★★★ | A visual feast let down by pacing, at its best once it settles on Grizabella |
The reviews: what they loved about Cats
- The choreography and movement. WhatsOnStage praised McOnie’s “sleek and balletically delicate” movement work, while the Telegraph called the production “vibrant” and admired its focus on “the dancing and the darkness.” The Independent felt McOnie’s reimagined choreography heightened the show’s “sinister undertones,” turning ensemble sequences into “artful cuddle puddles.” The Stage credited McOnie and his co-choreographers with a “sinewy, sensual” style that has the ensemble “practically purring off the stage.”
- Taziva-Faye Katsande’s Grizabella. WhatsOnStage and The Telegraph reviews highlighted her covering performance as a genuine highlight. WhatsOnStage described her rendition of Memory as “rich and raw,” while the Telegraph called it “spellbinding.” Time Out described the number as “a banger for the ages,” with Katsande’s final chorus “sublime.
- Standout individual performances. WhatsOnStage singled out Gary Wilmot’s Gus and Jet Yau’s “boneless breakdancer” with Time Out highlighting Yau’s “extremely fun” dance moves. Mister Mistoffelees, while all reviews singled out Jaydon Vijn with the Telegraph noting his “swagger and leather” as Rum Tum Tugger. The Stage singled out Elliot Broadfoot’s “delightfully puffed-up” Bustopher Jones.
- The Regent’s Park setting itself. WhatsOnStage felt the open-air venue, lit by Jessica Hung Han Yun’s “subtly toned lighting” around a huge Jellicle moon, made the production “often truly enchanting.” The Telegraph agreed the arena setting suited the show’s “creeping and crepuscular” cats.
- A rescue from the 2019 film. The Telegraph was explicit that this staging “repaired some of the reputational damage” done by Tom Hooper’s widely panned adaptation and the Independent noted the production is “pleasantly whimsical enough to dispel the memories” of the film, a sentiment echoed by Time Out.
The reviews: what fell flat for Cats
- Accessibility for newcomers. The Independent’s central reservation. While praising McOnie’s evident love for the material, it felt the production “lacks the consistent vision” to make the show’s inherent daftness land for new audiences, arguing enjoyment “depends on your tolerance” for its nonsensical world.
- The show’s threadbare plot. All reviews acknowledged this is a longstanding issue rather than a flaw of this production specifically. The Telegraph was blunt that “the big issue with Cats… is its plot. Or, should I say, lack of it,” while WhatsOnStage noted simply that “the plot, famously, is not the point.”
- Pacing. WhatsOnStage felt the show “proceeds at a stately pace,” with the action unfolding slowly around the production’s central spiral structure. The Stage felt the revue format means the show “is only as strong as its last act,” singling out an overlong pirate sequence and a Rum Tum Tugger number that “doesn’t quite work,” while noting the second half improves once it settles on Grizabella’s story as a through-line.
- A softened Growltiger’s Last Stand. The Telegraph felt the pirate sequence, which “scared the bejesus” out of them in the original West End production, had “more of a panto element” here, and would have liked it played darker.
- Uneven tonal choices. The Independent felt McOnie’s reworking of Macavity into “nightmare fuel” sat oddly alongside the more traditional, family-friendly treatment of other numbers.
- A safer, less reinventive approach. Time Out’s central reservation was that McOnie “doesn’t really try to find new depth or meaning” in the material, arguing the production favours “refinement, not reinvention” and feels comparatively conservative next to Regent’s Park’s recent Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar.
The back story
Cats is based on TS Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, following a tribe of London felines known as Jellicles as they gather for their annual ball. Matriarch Old Deuteronomy must choose one cat to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a new life — a wisp of a plot that gives way to a parade of musical numbers introducing each cat in turn.
First staged in the West End in 1981, where it ran for 21 years, Cats became one of the most successful musicals in history before a widely panned 2019 film adaptation. This new production, directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie, strips back the show’s familiar leg-warmers and fur for sleeker catsuits, leaning into its dance-driven strangeness at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.
Where to see Cats
- Venue: Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London, until 19 September 2026 (then touring)
What are the critics saying about CATS?
"as director and choreographer, he has lent into the sheer strangeness of the show, creating a misty, mysterious world that is pure fantasy. "
" in the setting of Regent’s Park, with the night-time shadows lengthening around the huge Jellicle moon that is the focus of Jessica Hung Han Yun’s subtly toned lighting, it is often truly enchanting."
"The costumes are both stylised and cleverly textured; fake fur is used sparingly. The makeup is glittery and unreal. It’s all silkily performed."
"The oddest musical works its magic again."
"This Cats is tremendous fun. Dignity is restored."
" this version of Cats wisely focused on the dancing and the darkness."
"Standout performances came from Jaydon Vijn as a rock ‘n’ roll Rum Tum Tugger – all leather, tassels, tousles and attitude – and Elliot Broadfoot as the corpulent bon vivant Bustopher Jones"
"[McOnie's] love shines off the new outdoor revival at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, which lacks a single big concept but is pleasantly whimsical enough to dispel the memories of the 2019 film "
"A giant bronze crescent moon dominates Sami Fendall's mellow, 1980s-inspired stage, setting the otherworldly tone for this show."
"Newcomers will find it more challenging to adjust to the plotless, witless world of the Jellicle tribe."
"Jaydon Vijn performs The Rum Tum Tugger like he's staggering out of a Camden rock pub, all snarling energy."
"And McOnie's masterstoke is casting the breakdancing Jet Yau as Mistoffelees – his moves are as blinding as his silver lamé get-up, even though purists may be horrified by quite how un-catlike he looks. "
"a very decent production of a tuneful and idiosyncratic musical"
"a lot of it is really quite good, especially in the second half when it’s dark and the set and lights look loads better."
"Jet Yau’s Magical Mister Mestophiles has both one of the best songs and a slightly gratuitous but extremely fun set of B-boy dance moves."
"...there is absolutely no denying that climactic number ‘Memory’ is a banger for the ages – the belted out final chorus is sublime and a deserved moment in the spotlight for Katsande."
"McOnie doesn’t really try to find new depth or meaning to Cats and ultimately this feels in the shadow of its previous incarnation. Refinement, not reinvention"
"McOnie leans most heavily into the show’s potential for spectacle, which is as much about movement as music. "
"Sami Fendall’s raffish costumes feel scruffier and earthier, while her set design – like the ribs of a junkyard emerging from the ground – are atmospherically picked out by Jessica Hung Han Yan’s lighting among the enclosing trees"
"this musical is basically a long revue, with each cat taking their turn. It’s only as strong as its last act and it sometimes drags."
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