Will slick new production appeal to a new generation of Cats people?

Since its launch in 1981, some 77 million people worldwide have seen the musical Cats. I’m not one of them.

I remember the hype, the endless trailers which seemed to punctuate every commercial break on television, the Elaine Page song that seemed to be played on a loop every time you switched the radio on, I vaguely knew how it ended. But this was going to be a new experience, and I made a conscious decision not to read up on it before the show. I wanted it to be as fresh for me as it would have been for the people who raved about it 45 years ago.

With hindsight, that was probably a mistake. For quite a quirky show, with a sung-through narrative, it would probably have helped to have had a synopsis to keep pace with what was going on.

This latest production, choreographed by Drew McOnie, has been given a 21st century makeover. The rotund, furry felines of the original production have made way for lean, lithe acrobatic creatures, mostly in lightweight, tight-fitting costumes. It makes for a stylish, slick production, but one can’t help but think that the original, more homely derivatives, would have seemed more endearing.

The production is split into two acts, but doesn’t really get going until the second half, when the energy and drama is turned up a notch.

Highlight of the show was probably Jet Yau’s jaw-dropping acrobatics as ‘conjurer cat’ Mr Mistoffeelees, with Louise Dearman’s barnstorming performance of Memory coming a close second. There was also a strong performances also from Matthew Caputo as Skimbleshanks, the railway cat - the steaming locomotive was a nice touch - and Diante Lodge was impressive as the sinister but stealthy Macavity.

The lighting and pyrotechnics were first class, the choreography and the unsung heroes were the members of the orchestra, hidden at the front of the stage. But the plot is a bit thin, and the first act - which largely consisted of a procession of characters introducing themselves - felt a bit too long.

From a technical point of view, it is hard to fault, and if song and dance is your passion, you will love it, but the one thing it does lack is much of a story. One also wonders, whether in the quest for artistic perfection, some of the charm of the original has been lost, that it has, perhaps become too polished.

Maybe it could have been a bit less Purdey, and a bit more Bagpuss.

*Cats opens at Birmingham Hippodrome today (Thursday), and runs until November 7.