Back in 1981, a young Elaine Paige had a career-changing moment when, mere days before opening, she replaced Judi Dench as Grizabella in the world premiere of Cats. Earlier this year, she was named runner-up at the 2026 Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year Competition. Grizabella isn’t the only Andrew Lloyd Webber role she’s played this year – during her third year musical at Bird College she played Jesus in an all-female Jesus Christ Superstar. Composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cats is based on T S Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. The musical follows the Jellicle Cats, who gather at the Jellicle Ball to choose one cat to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn.