Is the fourthlongest-running musical on Broadway, after

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and the Did you always envision that it would have that kind of longevity?

No. When we created the show, we had no idea that it would have such a brilliant life.

However, now as it has roamed the world, I get so many wonderful letters from dancers who have been in it that I am in awe actually of what we managed to create. Tickets to Cats begin at Dh275 on dubaiopera.com.

How much has changed since its first show in 1981?

Very little. Of course with any show, one is constantly polishing it and making sure that any modernisations or changes of thought are dealt with, but Cats is an exclusive beast and has remained brilliantly intact from May 11, 1981, when we first placed it in front of the public.

One always has to adjust because of the changes in the shape of the venue where we are presenting it and those adjustments can be quite encompassing.

I am very proud to have directed the first proscenium arch [an arch framing the opening between the stage and the auditorium in some theatres] production of the show in 1983, because when we opened it in London it was in the round and when we did it on Broadway, they created a large thrust stage, and Vienna, in 1983, was the first one to appear in a great classical opera house, the Theatre an der Wien.

Were there any teething issues in the production when it first began?

Yes, there were many teething issues in something that broke so much new ground...First of all, for the performers to find the stamina, second of all, for us to create every performer as a cat, therefore moving totally differently from anything anyone had ever seen.

What has been the highest and lowest moment you’ve had with this musical?

The discovery that we had created something that was absolutely unique and rivalled anything that Broadway had ever done — that was a wonderful surprise.

We have had two bomb scares, one on the opening night in London and

When did you realise you had something special with this show?

I suppose the earliest moment that we realised we had something special was on the first preview. The creative team were all huddled together in the front of the theatre, very nervous.

When we heard the first cheers coming and a lot of shouting, and we crept back up to peer into the auditorium and realised that the audience absolutely loved it, then we had an inkling that we might have made something special.

The dance routines in have become iconic in their own right. How do they reflect and drive the emotion of the story?

I am very proud that the dance routines have become iconic and to this

I loved choreographing the whole show, so I don’t have a favourite, it’s my baby, but perhaps the White Cat Solo —aswe watch a beautiful young cat becoming a young woman, is one of my favourites.