Cats, the much-loved musical by English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, returns to Rome's Teatro Sistina from 5 October.

Produced by Peeparrow in collaboration with Teatro Sistina, the Italian-language version of the show will be directed by Massimo Romeo Piparo, with Malika Ayane as Grizabella.

Following its huge success in Rome last year, the magical musical will once again be set in the Eternal City.

• Rome's cat sanctuary among the ruins

The Teatro Sistina stage will be transformed into a giant "dump" filled with ancient Roman treasures and archaeological finds, with the Colosseum as the backdrop.

Based on the poetry of T. S. Eliot, the musical tells the story of the Jellicles tribe of cats and the night they make the "Jellicle choice" by deciding which cat will ascend to the Heaviside layer and come back to a new life.

Seen by more than 73 million people around the world, Cats remains the fourth-longest-running Broadway show and the seventh-longest-running West End show.

For information about the Rome show, including tickets, see Teatro Sistina website. Cover photo Gianluca Saragò.