CATS UK and Ireland tour names three Grizabellas ahead of Plymouth opening

Louise Dearman, Alice Fearn and Rachael Wooding will take turns as Grizabella, the faded glamour cat, when Drew McOnie’s staging of CATS heads out across the UK and Ireland. The tour opens at Theatre Royal Plymouth on Tuesday 6 October 2026.

The production follows a record-breaking summer season at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, where McOnie is artistic director. He directs and choreographs, and the tour is presented by Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals.

Who plays Grizabella, and where

The role is divided between the tour’s venues as follows:

• Louise Dearman leads the opening run in Plymouth from 6 to 17 October 2026, and also plays Birmingham Hippodrome, Bristol Hippodrome, Norwich Theatre Royal and Edinburgh Playhouse. She is the only actor to have played both Glinda and Elphaba in the West End.
• Rachael Wooding, who played Grizabella at Regent’s Park this summer, returns to the role at Hull New Theatre from 20 to 24 October and at Palace Theatre Manchester from 10 to 21 November 2026.
• Alice Fearn makes her debut as Grizabella at Venue Cymru in Llandudno from 1 to 5 December 2026. She then covers most of the tour: Theatre Royal Glasgow, Nottingham Royal Concert Hall, the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, Sunderland Empire, His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen, the Grand Opera House in Belfast, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin, New Theatre Oxford, Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford, Liverpool Empire, Woking Theatre, Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, Milton Keynes Theatre and Theatre Royal Newcastle.

What the three stars say

Dearman said: “Memory is one of the most famous songs in musical theatre history, so to perform it every night is incredible. Plus, the long list of women who have played Grizabella is pretty iconic in itself!”

Fearn added: “Grizabella is one of those roles I had on my ‘dream’ list. The chance to be a part of this huge CATS legacy and get the opportunity to sing one of the most iconic scores ever written is something I will cherish forever.”

Wooding said: “It feels like a full circle moment for me. CATS was my first musical out of drama school and getting to be part of the Jellicle tribe again, this time as Grizabella, both at Regent’s Park and now on tour, feels really special.”

The rest of the cast

The three join a previously announced cast that includes Kalisha Amaris as Old Deuteronomy, Jack Wilcox as Munkustrap, Jaydon Vijn as Rum Tum Tugger, Jet Yau as Mr Mistoffelees and Diante Lodge as Macavity.

Based on T.S. Eliot’s poems, the musical follows a clan of cats who gather under the moon to learn which of them will be chosen for a new life. Since its London premiere in 1981, it has been seen by more than 77 million theatregoers worldwide.

Tour dates and tickets

Our CATS UK tour dates and tickets page currently lists nine stops, with tickets sold through ATG Tickets: Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow, Sunderland, Oxford, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Woking and Milton Keynes, running from 10 November 2026 to 5 June 2027.

The Plymouth opening, Hull, Llandudno and the other venues named in the announcement are not listed there yet, so check the official tour website or the theatre’s own box office for those dates.