Canberra CATS Set to Prowl in Old Theatre

CATS will be staged by Free Rain Theatre Company (ACT) at the ANU Arts Centre from July 4 to 22, 2012.

Learn about the secret life of cats as they meet once a year at the Jellicle Ball to celebrate being cats. At the ball their leader will announce the cat who will be re-born and go to the wonderful Heavyside Layer. Get to know the individual cats who are contenders for this honour when their characters are presented in music and movement.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s international hit musical is based on poems written by T S Eliot to his godchildren, and transformed into musical magic for grown-ups and children alike.

The music ranges from opera to rock, with a dash of other styles such as calypso and jazz. There's high-powered movement and dance - from classical to jazz with acrobatics thrown in.

This time set in an old theatre, Free Rain’s production aims to respect the original intentions of the text – to use cat characters as a fun way to consider the characters of humans, to respect the music and what it reveals about the characters, and to honour the performance traditions that have developed over the past thirty years.