Category:Productions

Since Cats first opened on the West End stage in 1981, it has become one of the world's best known and best loved musicals, seen by millions and grossing billions of dollars. With a plot based on T S Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and award-winning music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Cats, originally directed by Trevor Nunn, has since been presented in over 20 countries and in about 300 cities, including such diverse destinations as Buenos Aires, Seoul, Helsinki and Singapore.

The show has been translated into 19 languages including Japanese, German (three versions for Germany, Austria and Switzerland), Hungarian, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch (two versions for The Netherlands and Belgium), Swedish, Korean, Chinese, French, Spanish (three versions for Mexico, Spain and Argentina), Portuguese, Czech, and Italian. The Swiss production required a bilingual cast who performed in German and English on alternate nights. The title of the show has rarely been translated; the Mexican producers did a survey as to whether the Mexican audience would like their production to be called Gatos – the response in favour of keeping the English original was unanimous.

Cats has not only been presented in theatres, but also in circus tents in Australia and South Korea, an engine shed in Switzerland, and an indoor arena in Sweden. The replica show is staged on a spectacular junkyard set designed by John Napier. The sets have often been re-used across multiple productions; for more information see The Sets. Every production is also accompanied by a live orchestra, the size of which varies.

For more information on how the musical score has changed over the years, see Production Scores.

Worldwide Productions
(This list is more or less complete through to 2000, then missing productions worldwide. Professional National licensed productions only, not regional or amateur)

UK

 * London 11/05/1981 - 11/05/2002
 * UK Tour #1 - 05/1989 - 05/1990
 * UK Tour #2 - 07/1993 - 12/1995
 * UK/Europe Tour #3 - 02/2003 - 01/2009
 * UK/Europe Tour #4 - 02/2013 - 11/2014
 * London Revival #1 - 12/2014 - 04/2015
 * Blackpool - 07/2015 - 09/2015
 * London Revival #2 - 10/2015 - 01/2016
 * UK / International Tour - 01/2016 - present

German

 * Hamburg - 04/1986 - 01/2001
 * Stuttgart -  02/03/2001 - 30/06/2002
 * Berlin - 10/2002 - 01/2004
 * Düsseldorf - 04/2004 - 03/2005
 * German Tour - 04/2005 - 05/2006
 * German Tent Tour - 12/2010 - 06/2013

Europe

 * Budapest -  03/1983 - present (performed intermittently)
 * Vienna - 09/1983 - 09/1990
 * Oslo - 11/1985 - 01/1987
 * Helsinki - 09/1986 - 12/1988
 * Amsterdam - 07/1987 - 11/1987
 * Stockholm - 09/1987 - 12/1988
 * Amsterdam - 08/1988 - 10/1988
 * Moscow - 1988
 * Paris - 02/1989 - 04/1990
 * Gothenburg - 09/1989


 * Zurich - 08/1991 - 12/1993
 * Amsterdam - 11/1992 - 08/1993
 * European Tour 01/1994 - 05/1996
 * Antwerp - 05/1996 - 09/1996


 * Copenhagen - 09/2002 - 04/2003
 * Madrid - 12/2003 - 01/2005
 * Prague - 2004 - 2005
 * Warsaw - 2004 - 2007
 * Athens - 2005 (World Tour)
 * Moscow - 03/2005
 * Gothenburg - 09/2006 - 02/2007
 * Dutch Tour - 10/2006 - 10/2007
 * Italian Tour - 10/2009 - 09/2011
 * Stockholm - 09/2009 - 12/2009
 * Oslo - 2009
 * Paris Revival - 10/2015 - 07/2016
 * Tampere - 09/2017 - 2018
 * Vienna Revival - 09/2019 - 06/2022
 * Il Sistina - 12/2022 - 2023

Asia/Australasia

 * Japan - 11/1983 - present
 * Shanghai - 2003 (World Tour)
 * Seoul - 2003 (World Tour)
 * Qatar - 2003 (World Tour)
 * South Korea Tent Tour - 2003 - 2004
 * Beijing - 2004 (World Tour)
 * South Korea - 2008 - 2009
 * South Korea - 08/2011 - 04/2012
 * China Tour - 08/2012 - 2014

Australia / Asia

 * Sydney - 07/1985 - 08/1987
 * Melbourne - 10/1987 - 12/1988
 * Australia Tour - 02/1989 - 01/1990
 * Australia/Asia Tour - 09/1993 - 01/1996
 * Circus Tent Tour - 12/1999 - 02/2001
 * Australasia 2007-2010
 * Asia Tour - 05/2014 - 06/2015
 * Australia/New Zealand - 09/2015 - 2016
 * Asia Tour - 07/2017 - 03/2018
 * New Zealand Tour - 04/2019 - 05/2019
 * Asia Tour - 09/2020 - 05/2021 (South Korea)
 * Asia Tour - 02/2022 - 03/2022 (Taiwan)
 * Asia Tour - 12/2022 - 08/2023 (South Korea and Taiwan)

Africa

 * South Africa / World Tour - 12/2001 - 06/2002
 * Johannesburg/Cape Town - 2009 - 2010

Americas

 * Broadway - 10/1982 - 09/2000
 * US Tour #1 - 12/1983 - 11/1987
 * US Tour #2/LA - 01/1985 - 11/1986
 * US Tour #3 - 09/1986 - 09/1988
 * US Tour #4 - 03/1987 - 12/1999


 * Toronto - 03/1985 - 03/1987
 * Canada Tour #1 - 06/1987 - 01/1988
 * Canada Tour #2 - 06/1988 - 09/1988
 * Canada Tour #3 - 01/1989 - 08/1989
 * Mexico City / Guadalajara / Monterrey - 04/1991 - 12/1992
 * Buenos Aires - 06/1993 - 11/1993
 * US Tour #5 - 2001 - 2012
 * Brazil - 03/2010 - 09/2010
 * Mexico Tour #2 - 05/2013 - 12/2014


 * Oasis of the Seas Cruise Ship - 10/2014 - present
 * Broadway Revival - 07/2016 - 12/2017
 * Mexico Tour #3 - 10/2018 - 12/2019
 * US Tour #6 - 01/2019 - 03/2020 (Equity; cut short due to pandemic)
 * US Tour #6 - 09/2021 - 06/2023 (Non-Equity)

Films

 * Animated Film (cancelled)
 * Stage Film - 1998
 * Cats Movie - 2019