Already household names around the rest of the world, Mao, Beican Shijie and Mama Miya are coming to China. Sir Cameron Mackintosh is poised to sign an agreement to produce his musicals – Cats, Les Misérables and Mamma Mia – in Chinese.

The deal has been years in the making and will finally be completed on Monday by Sir Cameron and China Arts and Entertainment, an affiliate of the Ministry of Culture. It offers nothing less than an invitation for the world’s most successful musical impresario to break into the world’s biggest – and until now closed – market.

Up first will be Les Misérables. It is expected to make its debut at the National Theatre for Performing Arts in November next year. It will be among the first, and possibly biggest, shows to be staged in the modernistic, glass-domed theatre – China’s newest and most ambitious showcase for the arts that stands near Tiananmen Square, in the shadow of the Stalinist-style bulk of the Great Hall of the People.

Dubbed the “Egg” for its smooth, gently curving exterior, the theatre is still under wraps and officials have been coy to reveal its inaugural performance.

Sir Cameron will also stage Chinese-language versions of The Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia, Miss Saigon, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady and Cats.

Getting the language right is crucial. Previous shows by Sir Cameron have been in English with Chinese surtitles – less than ideal in a country where few people speak much English. Sir Cameron has long-term plans to train Chinese writers, performers and production crews to create original Chinese musicals.

On Tuesday he will meet students at China’s Central Academy of Drama, who will no doubt be among the thousands eager to audition for a part in productions virtually guaranteed to take China by storm.

Sir Cameron has already had a glimpse of the Chinese enthusiasm for his musicals. A limited run of Les Misérables in Shanghai in 2002 was a sellout.

Chinese still thirst for variety after the ultra-leftist 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. For a decade Mao Zedong’s wife, Jiang Qing, banned any musical stage performance other than the five “revolutionary model operas” that she had commissioned, approved and, in some cases, even tried to choreograph.

My Fair Ladyis a far cry from shows such as Raid on the White Tiger Regiment, On the Docks, Taking Tiger Mountain by Storm, Sparks Amid the Reeds and The Red Lantern.

Censors have softened their approach and with incomes rising swiftly in cities, newly rich young Chinese are looking for fresh ways to spend their money. Tickets could run as high as £50, or nearly three months’ income for a farmer, so the shows will be for China’s most affluent.

Musicals are gaining in popularity. Last year The Sound of Music and the musical of The Lion King were staged in China. The tap-dance-themed 42nd Street is due to go on tour this month and the Hong Kong pop star Jacky Cheung, one of Chinese pop’s biggest acts, staged a Mandarin version of his Cantonese dialect show Snow Wolf Lake.

Sir Cameron said in 2002 that the appeal of Les Misérables to a wide audience could set the stage for his future ambitions. “We have several other internationally acclaimed musicals which we would like to present firstly in Shanghai and Beijing and then tour into other cities in China,” he said.

Industry experts have little doubt that audiences will flock to the Chinese productions. Alistair Smith, the news editor of The Stage, called China “an untapped but potentially hugely lucrative market”.

He said: “Eastern Europe and Asia are likely to be the two big growth markets for shows over the coming years and Cameron is clearly looking to establish an early foothold in what is likely to become an increasingly important sector.

“China in particular, with its predicted massive economic growth, is likely to become a bigger and bigger player in the entertainment market.”

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