What an amazing production! The King’s School Ely Junior School gave a splendid performance of ‘Cats’ by Andrew Lloyd Webber in the Hayward Theatre.

I’d been to see the show in London many years ago, and, frankly, I preferred this performance.

The forty or so cats that stretched and moved about the stage in a particularly believable feline fashion, the genuineness of the chief characters and the fantastic music in the junior school production were just the ticket.

With amazingly effective make up and costumes, these performers presented the array of feline characters splendidly, exhibiting not only their varied personalities, but with superb singing they brought out their inner feelings magnificently.

From the jazzy and sexy numbers to the emotional pull of ‘Memory’ these cats kept us transfixed.

The choreography was astonishing and the lithe suppleness of the cast kept us in awe. Cartwheels, doing the splits, tap- dancing, you name it, it was there in one highly entertaining, cohesive production.

Imaginative stage scenery also helped to set the mood well.

Director Kathryn Sudbury, Choreographer Natasha Hobbs and Musical Director Neil Porter-Thaw and their team are to be congratulated for a fantastic show. It is quite easy to understand why it ended with a spontaneous standing ovation!