‘101 Dalmatians’, a stage adaptation of the beloved book (and Disney movie) by Dodie Smith, has hit the road on a UK Tour following it’s premiere at Regents Park Open Air Theatre in Summer 2022. This week the musical has turned the Edinburgh Playhouse spotted for its debut run in Scotland’s Capital.
The cast in this production did their best to bring these well-known characters to life. Rachel Lea-Gray (covering for the absent Faye Tozer) as Cruella De Vil had no fear of bringing the evil fashionista to stage with sheer villainy and killer vocals. Cruella is joined by her rambunctious nephews Casper and Jasper played by Charles Brunton and Danny Hendrix. The two actors bring farcical comedy to stage with these two supporting roles and are a firm favourite for the younger members of the audience.
The pets of our beloved dalmatians come in the form of Jessie Elland as Danielle, and Samuel Thomas as Tom. The pair bring the quirky and sometimes manic couple to life with energy and establish the pair’s affection for their dogs.
Linford Johnson as Pongo and Emma Thornett as Perdi, bring these two dogs to life wonderfully with their intricate puppetry and talented vocals. They steal every scene they’re in for both adults and young people with their detailed physical performances.
The ensemble of this musical take on puppets and cartoonish personas, with energy and great vocals. The ensemble are as follows; Victoria Compson-Bradford (Swing), Ross Dorrington, Benjamin Durham, Benedict Hastings, Lottie Johnson, Tom Norman, Hugo Rolland, Lindo Shinda, Eugene Shire and Jasmine Triadi.
In 2022, I attended the opening night of ‘101 Dalmatians’ in London at Regents Park Open Air Theatre, the musical has clearly been re-worked for this touring production, with a tighter book and cleaner score, yet some of the same problems of the original production remain. Bill Buckhurst’s direction completely wipes away the 21st century styling of the Regent’s Park production, breathing in a splendour of a seventies-esque setting which works brilliantly. In terms of the context of the book and the warmth needed for some of the characters to resonate with the audience, this seems to be missing, with some questionable direction and decisions made to key protagonists whether that be the humans Danielle and Tom or even at points Pongo. There needs to be an elevated lovingness from the protagonists in this tale to balance the devious antagonist, Cruella, yet that sadly seems absent. Also, the blocking in some of the scenes seems messy and overpacked, with too much going on for the audience to grasp what’s happening. With this the direction seems out of tandem with the actual purpose of some of the dialogue from the book, with more mature humour being censored by being thrown away carelessly, which just doesn’t work. Whilst some of the actual dialogue that’s emphasised or leaned on is rather clinical. Buckhurst clearly wanted a children’s show and not a family musical, yet neither is really accomplished here and instead we have something in-between, with a mystery target audience.
Johnny McKnight is a theatre legend in Scotland, creating many quirky ingenious plays, and to most he is known as the King of pantomime at the Tron in Glasgow and MacRobert Centre – his quirks and cartoonish characters are very much present in the writing of this book, based on Zinnie Harris’ (another Scottish theatre legend) stage adaptation. It’s clear the book intended to part ways with the Disney motion picture, yet it seems too far of a reach, taking away the focus on the importance of family and love. There are some dialogue and narrative points that leave parents scratching their heads why the show has gone from a light-hearted and colourful experience for their young people to a few moments which seem too dark for people under the age of six – most notably a puppy that is assumed dead during a three minute song or two dogs getting tasered. Also Cruella turning into a hound like beast in the latter half of Act Two was simply bizarre and cringe inducing, even for the younger members of the audience. The layers of this book seem mismatched and there’s some moments which just shouldn’t be in a family show.
Douglas Hodge composes the music for this production and bar the earworm ‘One Added Extra Reprise’ and the show stopping ‘Bring Me Fur’, the score doesn’t hold many memorable hits. The music attempts to drive the somewhat convoluted narrative, yet the music seems inconsistent and at points needless.
The show’s saving grace is how beautiful it looks with David Woodhead’s bright and quirky set design complimented by James Whiteside’s vibrant lighting design. Sarah Mercadè’s costume design brings the glamour you’d expect in the presence of Cruella De Vil, all the characters look very distinctive and cartoonish.
The tricky aspect of this production is the integration of the Dog puppets, yet Jimmy Grimes’ creative Puppet design and direction does well to bring the loveable pooches to life. The movement is impressive and life like for the most part, especially the dalmatians themselves and a delightful cat. This is yet another aspect of this production which has been developed and vastly improved for the UK touring production.
‘101 Dalmatians’ is a vibrant and visually beautiful production, featuring a talented cast, yet it’s score, and book fail to leave the audience barking for more.
Tickets available here – https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/101-dalmatians/edinburgh-playhouse/
Theatre Scotland 
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