Beverley Knight to star in Cats at the Palladium

It has now been confirmed that Beverley Knight will star as 'Grizabella' in Andrew Lloyd Webber's iconic musical Cats, which returns to the London Palladium on 23 October 2015 and is booking to 2 January 2016.

Beverley Knight is currently starring as Felicia Farrell in Memphis at the Shaftesbury Theatre, a role that has given the British soul singer a recent Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Beverley Knight has also enjoyed West End success in 'The Bodyguard' musical at the Adlephi Theatre, from 9 September 2013 to 31 May 2014.

The role of 'Grizabella' was originally created by Elaine Paige, delivering the famous song 'Memory' and was taken on by both Nicole Sherzinger and Kerry Ellis when the show was last at the Palladium from 6 December 2014 to 25 April 2015.

Ms Knight said of the announcement:

"To be asked to join the company of Andrew Lloyd Webber's historic show was so exciting and totally unexpected as, vocally, I am so different to the many incredible women who have sung the classic Memory over the years. To follow in their footsteps is something to truly relish...Working with Andrew will be a real privilege."

Cats is one of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history. It received its world premiere at the New London Theatre in 1981 where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances. The production was the winner of the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical, and in 1983 the Broadway production became the recipient of seven Tony awards including Best Musical, and ran for eighteen years. Since its world premiere, the musical has been presented in over 30 countries, has been translated into 10 languages and has been seen by over 50 million people world-wide.

Based on T. S. Eliot's 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats', the new production will reunite the original creative team, Director Trevor Nunn, Associate Director and Choreographer Gillian Lynne, Designer John Napier and Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

"On just one special night of the year, all Jellicle cats meet at the Jellicle Ball where Old Deuteronomy, their wise and benevolent leader, makes the Jellicle choice and announces which of them will go up to The Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life."