LONDON: Theatregoers in London are served by a small army of cats who carry out important duties once the curtain has come down and the audience has gone home. The highly respected theatre cats go on patrol in the early hours and are the scourge of the theatre mice.

Belle at the Prince Edward does the night shift in the foyer and auditorium, while there are two tomcats at the Prince of Wales Theatre. “They live round the stalls bar and they have the run of the theatre at night,” explains theatre manager John Causebrook. Their vet is in exclusive Harley Street, home of the UK’s most prestigious physicians, with their food bill coming out of the theatre budget and William and Harry treated as casual staff.

At the Royal Court the resident black tomcat is named Osborne. Osborne moved from his Sloane Square billet to the Duke of York’s theatre during renovation at the Royal Court, and moved back with the company on completion.

Misty at the Strand Theatre goes one better, sauntering on stage during rehearsal. The white and tabby cat favours a radiator or the sound desk for daytime naps, preparing for her nocturnal duties for which she has the run of the theatre. She, says theatre fireman and cat-minder-in-chief Dave Madge, has a preference for fresh chicken and prawns.

London’s theatre cats are clearly pampered and much loved, but mousing is a serious job at the West End theatres. The plethora of restaurants and alleyways in the area attract rodents with a taste for the high life, and theatres are determined that their only visitors should be of the two-legged variety.

Shakespeare’s Globe has two cats on the pay roll. Jack and Cleo were adopted in 1997 from an animal shelter. “They are very much working cats,” explains spokeswoman Jennifer Hartley. “They really are part of the security team.”

Some theatres have dropped the tradition of the theatre cat as they have extended their catering; health and safety regulations discourage livestock where food is being served.

Among those who have gone into graceful retirement are Polly and Victoria from the Apollo, Victoria, home for many years of Starlight Express, and Gus at the Players. Gus took up residence at the Players with Florrie, and greeted patrons from a red velvet sofa until his retirement to the country this year. —Dawn/The Guardian News Service.