Three Grizabellas Announced for CATS UK and Ireland Tour
Louise Dearman, Alice Fearn and Rachael Wooding will share the iconic role of Grizabella in the upcoming UK and Ireland tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS, directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie.
Three acclaimed West End performers will share the iconic role of Grizabella in the upcoming UK and Ireland tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS.
Louise Dearman, Alice Fearn and Rachael Wooding will each take on the role of the faded glamour cat, with the new tour beginning at Theatre Royal Plymouth on 6 October 2026.
Dearman will open the tour in Plymouth before appearing in Birmingham, Bristol, Norwich and Edinburgh. Wooding, who played Grizabella in the recent record-breaking summer production at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, returns to the role for performances in Hull and Manchester. Fearn will make her debut as Grizabella in Llandudno before taking the character to venues across the remainder of the tour, including Glasgow, Nottingham, Canterbury, Sunderland, Aberdeen, Belfast, Dublin, Oxford, Southampton, Bradford, Liverpool, Woking, Cardiff, Milton Keynes and Newcastle.
The trio bring considerable West End experience to one of musical theatre's most famous roles. Dearman is known for playing both Glinda and Elphaba in Wicked, while Fearn has starred in productions including Wicked and Come From Away. Wooding has appeared in numerous West End productions and previously played Grizabella in Drew McOnie's new staging of CATS at Regent's Park.
Directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie, the production follows a successful summer season at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. The touring production features a cast including Kalisha Amaris as Old Deuteronomy, Jack Wilcox as Munkustrap, Jaydon Vijn as Rum Tum Tugger, Diante Lodge as Macavity, Jet Yau as Mr Mistoffelees, Millie O'Connell as Demeter and Katie Dunsden as Bombalurina.
Based on T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, CATS features Andrew Lloyd Webber's celebrated score, including the iconic song “Memory”.
The UK and Ireland tour continues through June 2027, visiting theatres across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Tour stops and dates:
HULL, New Theatre, Tue 20 Oct – Sat 24 Oct 2026
BIRMINGHAM, Hippodrome Theatre, Tue 27 Oct – Sat 07 Nov 2026
MANCHESTER, Palace Theatre, Tue 10 Nov – Sat 21 Nov 2026
BRISTOL, Hippodrome Theatre, Tue 24 Nov – Sat 28 Nov 2026
LLANDUDNO, Venue Cymru, Tue 01 Dec – Sat 05 Dec 2026
GLASGOW, Theatre Royal, Tue 08 Dec – Sun 27 Dec 2026
NOTTINGHAM, Royal Concert Hall, Wed 06 Jan – Sat 16 Jan 2027
CANTERBURY, The Marlowe Theatre, Tue 19 Jan – Sat 23 Jan 2027
SUNDERLAND, Sunderland Empire, Tue 26 Jan – Sat 30 Jan 2027
ABERDEEN, His Majesty’s Theatre, Tue 09 Feb – Sat 13 Feb 2027
NORWICH, Theatre Royal, Tue 16 Feb – Sat 27 Feb 2027
BELFAST, Grand Opera House, Tue 02 Mar – Sat 13 Mar 2027
DUBLIN, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Tue 16 Mar – Sat 20 Mar 2027
OXFORD, New Theatre Oxford, Tue 23 Mar – Sat 27 Mar 2027
SOUTHAMPTON, Mayflower Theatre, Tue 30 Mar – Sat 10 Apr 2027
EDINBURGH, Edinburgh Playhouse, Tue 20 Apr – Sat 24 Apr 2027
BRADFORD, The Alhambra Theatre, Tue 27 Apr – Sat 01 May 2027
LIVERPOOL, Liverpool Empire, Wed 05 May – Sat 15 May 2027
WOKING, Woking Theatre, Tue 18 May – Sat 22 May 2027
CARDIFF, Wales Millennium Centre, Tue 25 May – Sat 29 May 2027
MILTON KEYNES, Milton Keynes Theatre, Tue 01 Jun – Sat 05 Jun 2027
NEWCASTLE, Theatre Royal, Tue 08 Jun – Sat 19 Jun 2027
