Arts:Blog

Theatre Review: 101 Dalmatians--The Musical ***

Scott Purvis-Armour reviews a ‘barking night out’ that ‘wags with energy.’

With Aladdin just a magic carpet ride away at the Theatre Royal, another animation-inspired musical has been spotted at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow.

Loosely based on the original 1956 novel by Dodie Smith and not from the Disney kennel, this family-friendly production is a barking night out, which at times struggles to let itself off the leash. The familiar plot follows the puppy-love of two owners, united by their dotty dogs, in a bid to rescue their newborns from the clutches of a fur-coat obsessed fashion mogul.

The cast tell this much-loved story with heart and humour. Although oddly absent, Samuel Thomas and Jessie Elland are endearing as the puppies’ owners, propped by an excellent ensemble of performer puppeteers. Jimmy Grimes’ puppets are beautiful to watch, lithe in their movements and bearing a litter of individual mannerisms which yap with personality. Victoria Compson-Bradford is particularly purrfect as the oily feline anti-hero, Tabby, and Charles Brunton and Danny Hendrix are fun as De Vil’s blunderingly Burberry-clad henchmen.

Steps star Faye Tozer is fantastically terrific as the cruel Cruella De Vil, a classy, cutthroat pantomime baddie bearing all the hallmarks of excellence, darling. Roaring around the stage with the malicious gentility of a bar fight in The Ivy, Tozer drips with poison and privilege. Her voice is clean as a baby seal’s pelt, accessorising her actor’s performance with just enough cartoon villainy without becoming a pastiche. Part Shirley Bassey and part Eartha Kitt, the end of the first act - a “Defying Gravity” inspired belt (good enough to be Gucci) - is a testament to her talent.

The design around this cast is at times pure-bred. David Woodhead’s simple and cartoonish sets strike the piece as a comic Sunday afternoon in front of an old family film whilst James Whiteside’s lighting gives the show the smoky twilight of a night at cinema. Costume designer Sarah Mercadé’s pieces would make Cruella proud - here, the De Vil wears Prada in a fantastical, structured arc of animal prints; there, the human puppeteers are powdered in the blue velvet of a cold countryside morning. The result is a wonderful wardrobe which De- Lights, although one or two more outfits in Cruella’s catalogue might be appropriate.

With a book by Tron Theatre legend Johnny McKnight and music and lyrics by the Tony Award winning actor Douglas Hodge, the show bears a fine pedigree. Tonally, though, there is a whelp of a problem in this breeding - Hodge’s very wordy lyrics jut along with adult-teasing complexity and at times passingly forgettable melodies; McKnight’s script largely chases the smiles of the delighted children in the audience. The result is a show which needs to decide if it wants to find a little more bite for grown up members in the audience or if it is content to pitch to puppies.

Still, when this combination works, it wags with energy. There are some moments in Hodge’s music that tug at the heartstrings like a PDSA appeal, and one younger member of the audience shouted “I love this!” during De Vil’s demise. The result is a show which sometimes finds it difficult to make it through the Cruft’s obstacle course of plot cleanly enough.

101 Dalmatians: The Musical is a warm belly-rub of a show which jumps along like a flea, unleashed by a cast of West End ready actors and puppeteers. Unfortunately, though, it all feels a little muzzled in book and music to become Best in Show.

101 Dalmatians: The Musical is at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow until November 16, 2024. It then performs at the Edinburgh Playhouse (Nov 19-23) before continuing its UK tour.

Photo by Johan Persson.