Fancy felines will take centre-stage when the Riverside Theatre Company’s production of The Aristocats comes to the Priory Centre, St Neots.

Set in Paris in 1910, the play tells of the adventures of a mother cat named Duchess and her three kittens, Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse, who live in the mansion of retired opera diva Madame Adelaide Bonfamille with her butler, Edgar.

The cats come under threat when Edgar discovers Madame Bonfamille’s will – stating she wishes to leave her fortune to the cats while they are alive and, secondly, to him.

Impatient to get his hands on the money, he hatches a plan to ­eliminate the cats.

He sedates them by putting ­sleeping pills in their food and heads out into the countryside to release them into the wild.

However, he is ambushed by two hound dogs named Napoleon and Lafayette, who try to foil his attempt.

Edgar escapes and while the cats are unharmed, they are stranded in the countryside.

But fortune is on their side as the Duchess meets an alley cat named Thomas O’Malley, who offers to guide her and the kittens to Paris.

Together with a pair of English geese, who are on a tour of France, the group march to the city.

Travelling across the rooftops, the cats meet Scat Cat and his band, close friends to O’Malley, who perform the song Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat.

They return to the mansion, whereupon O’Malley departs. Edgar tries to send the cats to Timbuktu in a trunk, but Edgar is locked inside and sent to Timbuktu himself.

Riverside Theatre Company – based in St Neots – opened its doors to young performers in 2007.

Since then, the senior and junior theatre companies have performed NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association) award-winning productions.

Join the cast for a fresh new take on the Disney classic.

INFORMATION: The show will be performed at 7pm on May 30 and 3.30pm on May 31. Tickets £8 for adults, £6 for concessions and £24 for a family from the Priory Centre box office on 01480 388922 or www.riversidetheatrecompany.co.uk.