Sydney 1985

Cats had its Australian premiere at the Theatre Royal in Sydney. The production in Sydney ran from 26th July 1985 till 1st August 1987 before moving to Melbourne.

The show was rather based on the Broadway version of the show, with a cast that consisted of 22 cats (there was no Electra). Also the characters had their American names - Sillabub, Tumblebrutus and Pouncival. Instead of Mistoffelees, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer sang their own song though. Also the costumes and make-ups had their own style, which is still used for almost all Asian and Australian productions.

The show moved to Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne with a partly new cast.

The Australian version of the show was the base for the Hamburg production which became one of Germany's most successful musicals and had the same production team, including David Taylor as the director and Jo-Anne Robinson as Associate Choreographer.

Creative Team
Director: David Taylor (after Trevor Nunn)

Choreographer: Gillian Lynne

Assistant Choreographer: Jo-Anne Robinson

Set Designer: Raymond Huessy (after John Napier)

Production Musical Director: Tony Hatch

Cast
Alonzo/Rumpus Cat - Stephen Holford Asparagus/Bustopher Jones/Growltiger - Grant Smith

Bombalurina - Kerry Woods

Cassandra - Nadia Strahan

Coricopat - Geoffrey Jenkins

Demeter - Robyn Forsythe

Grizabella - Debbie Byrne

Jellylorum/Griddlebone - Marina Prior

Jennyanydots - Pat Piney

Mistoffelees - David Atkins

Mungojerrie - Garry Ginivan

Munkustrap - Anthony O'Keeffe Old Deuteronomy - John Wood

Plato/Macavity - Bruce MacArthur

Pouncival - Jess Jiminez

Rum Tum Tugger - Jeff Phillips

Rumpleteazer - Laura Bishop

Sillabub - Anita Combe

Skimbleshanks - John Hackett

Tantomile - Roula Kanta

Tumblebrutus - Stewart Crowley

Victoria - Greta Thomas

The Cats Chorus: Mark Bradley, Adey Grummet, Avigail Herman, Ian White

Swings: Edwina Cox, Graciano Debeljuh, Rodney Glenn-Smith, Marianne Howard, Hilton Jones, Leanne O'Farrell, Leonie Page, Glen Walsh

Cast Recording
A cast recording, conducted by Peter Casey, had been released in 1985. It's the only English recording of Cats that includes 'The Awful Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles'.