This musical is very much a children’s entertainment, so it’s therefore surprising that it runs the standard length of time, despite starting and finishing half an hour earlier than one normally expects. It would benefit considerably from being at least half an hour shorter, without losing any of the essential story telling or spectacle. The narrative is a simple one, the evil Cruella de Vil desires a wardrobe of outfits made of white with black spots fur, and to that end, sends her two incompetent nephews to steal all the Dalmatians in the area.
With music and lyrics by Douglas Hodge, book by Johnny McKnight from an original novel by Dodie Smith, and directed by Bill Buckhurst, this musical has a lot in common with pantomime. With Cruella the villain we all love to boo and hiss, and the two nincompoops with an admirable competence in slapstick comedy, the premise is pure panto. Faye Tozer (from Steps) is cast in the role of Cruella, but was indisposed on the evening I went, so her part was played by Rachel Lea-Gray, who gave a very impressive performance, belting out the musical numbers and giving a master class in evil cackle. Her two idiot nephews Casper (Charles Brunton) and Jasper (Danny Hendrix) were suitably silly, and the gags were straight from the panto/Christmas cracker joke book, although some were clever. I particularly liked, when the stolen puppies were trying to find their parents and their way home, “Re-bark if you hear this message”.
The dogs were portrayed by puppets of the Lion King or War Horse kind. In other words, they were worked by puppeteers clearly on view, and I always find it hard to concentrate on the puppet rather than the handler, but by act two I think I’d nailed it. Designed and made by Jimmy Grimes, the puppets were suitably convincing as the creatures they represented. In this musical I imagine the puppeteers were singers first, who with training and guidance from Tom Norman as puppetry captain, had become competent at manipulating the puppets. The puppet movements accurately captured typical doggy postures and gestures, and to do all that whilst singing in harmony is no mean feat. The singing was excellent, as was the six piece band under the leadership of musical director Leigh Stanford Thompson. The songs, however, are completely forgettable, despite being performed with gusto and some beautiful voices. There is a puppet pussy, who almost steals the show with some wonderful cat- like slinky movement.
James Whiteside’s lighting design and David Woodhead’s sets created simple but effective spaces which worked well on the large stage and Chris Whybrow’s sound design created a perfect balance between orchestra and voices.
With about 40% of the audience comprised of children, many of them displaying the merchandise – wearing black and white spotty ears or carry a Dalmatian soft toy, the dogs were undoubtedly the stars of the show. But if the dogs were the stars, the superstar was the real wee puppy brought on in the arms of one of the cast for the final curtain call. “Aahs” all round!
101 Dalmatians plays at Edinburgh Playhouse until 23rd November. Then in Oxford (3rd – 7th December) and Brighton (17th December to 5th January 2025)
Reviewer: H.S. Baker
Reviewed: 20th November 2024
North West End UK Rating: