A Note from The director

Most of the poems comprising Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939) have been set to music complete and in their originally published form; a few have been subject to a minor revision of tense or pronouns, and eight lines have been added to the Song of the Jellicles. However, some of our lyrics, notably The Marching Song of the Pollicle Dogs and the story of Grizabella were discovered among the unpublished writings of Eliot. The prologue is based on ideas and incorporates lines from another unpublished poem, entitled Pollicle Dogs and Jellicle Cats. Memory includes lines from and is suggested by Rhapsody On a Windy Night, and other poems of the Prufrock period. All other words in the show are taken from the Collected Poems.

Trevor Nunn

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