Review: 101 DALMATIANS, King's Theatre

101 Dalmatians is a new musical with book by Johnny McKnight and music and lyrics by Douglas Hodge and based on the book by Dodie Smith.

Pongo (operated by Linford Johnson) is an abandoned dog who manages to win the heart of kind-hearted Danielle (played by Jessie Elland) at the dogs’ home. When out walking, they meet Perdi (operated by Emma Thornett) and her owner Tom (played by Samuel Thomas) and its pretty much love at first sight/sniff for both couples. The puppets are extraordinary and you very quickly see past the mechanics of it and focus on the animal.

Tom is an aspiring fashion designer and he catches the attention of the super famous super fabulous Cruella De Vil (Faye Tozer). She’s known for her outlandish fashion statements but her favourite thing? Animal fur. When Cruella finds out Tom’s dogs are expecting puppies its all she can think about and she offers to buy them all. When Tom and Danielle stand firm that they won’t sell there’s only one thing for it- she’s going to have to kidnap the pups.

101 Dalmatians was originally staged at Regent’s Park Theatre as part of their summer 2022 season. It has gone through a complete overhaul and though the original was good, it is a now much slicker musical production. 

At 2 hours 15 minutes including interval its a fairly short show and the perfect length to keep the attention of the little ones in the audience. Its a little bit panto at times but in the best possible way as Faye Tozer seems to relish being the baddie. It's a fun family musical that isn't afraid to tug on the heartstrings and is packed with good songs and highly skilled puppetry. 

Photo credit: Johann Persson

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