JELLICLE chaos has returned to one of London’s most cat-approved corners: the lush green pocket of Regent’s Park where Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats can prowl under trees and moonlight without needing to pretend it’s anything else.

According to a new review, the show is back at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, with a steel crescent set where a bright moon hangs over the nocturnal business. The surroundings do half the work: leaves swish, the night air does its thing, and the whole place feels purpose-built for a musical that’s always been more vibe than plot.

This time, Macavity and co are being directed and newly choreographed by Drew McOnie. The key shift is the emphasis. The balance is tipped towards dance and acrobatics over storytelling, and the cats are described as more balletic and graceful than the 1981 original.

It’s also a production keen to drag Cats back from the shadow of Tom Hooper’s film. That screen version was widely derided by many as a “dog’s dinner”, though not everyone hated it. Here, the mood is about reclaiming: less internet punchline, more sleek physical theatre.

Visually, there’s plenty of sparkle in the specifics. Sami Fendall’s set is said to glimmer and glitter, while the costumes move from earthy tones into louder, more flamboyant territory: leotards and catsuits that lean into the show’s playful artificiality rather than apologising for it.

Cats has never been a musical that wins people over with neat narrative logic, and that’s exactly why a dance-forward approach can feel like the smartest way to handle it. In a setting as naturally theatrical as Regent’s Park at night, a jellicle jumble might be the whole point.