101 Dalmatians
I was a little confused by a few small details. During the interval, I had a look through the programme and noticed that this is not a Disney production. This show written by Douglas Hodge (music and lyrics) and Johnny McKnight (book), from a stage adaptation by Zinnie Harris is, however, inspired by the same Dodie Smith novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians as Disney’s films. That said, there are more than a few similarities between the two. Surprisingly, some of the Disney adaptations have also been interpreted differently here. The most obvious examples are the numeric title, and the stooges: Jasper and Saul. In the original novel, they’re more menacing; in the Disney animation, they become the more comical Jasper and Horace; and here, they are Jasper and Casper, once again comedic. This does mean, however, that the classic Cruella de Vil song does not feature.
This might seem obvious, but the show is about dogs. A fair amount of the action happens at floor level. The stalls at the Eventim Apollo are rather flat, so it might be worth bringing a pillow or booster seat for your little ones to ensure they don’t miss anything.
It’s definitely a child-friendly introduction to theatre. I’d say it sits slightly more on the ‘highbrow’ side than a traditional panto, while still retaining lots of that familiar charm. There are several moments I’d call ‘panto-esque’: at one point, a cast member is dressed as Boris Johnson talking about his time in politics, when Cruella leaves the room, there’s a dramatic rumble of thunder and the purple-lit dungeon setting really leans into that spooky-fun aesthetic.
Most of all, we have Jeff Brazier and Aston Merrygold as Casper and Jasper. They provide light comic relief, usually by mishearing what Cruella has said. One hilarious moment came just after a cast member did a string of flips, Merrygold stood up as if to do one too. It was already amusing, but even more so if you remember that this used to be his signature move in JLS.
Casper and Jasper gain access to the house to dognap the puppies by pretending to be two plumbers, wearing fake moustaches. When asked for their names, they said “Ant and Dec”. This annoyed me slightly, as the joke seemed clearly set up for them to be “Mario and Luigi” which I suspect the younger audience would have recognised more readily. Scenes later, a moustache is found on the floor as a plot point, but I don’t recall one ever falling off. I’m usually quite good at spotting these things, though I may have missed it.
There was one confusing stage moment when Button was dying. The dialogue didn’t quite make sense; they were talking about how the puppies wouldn’t give up on her, but in the scene, the puppies didn’t say or do anything. It half made me wonder if Button identified as they/them, but even that didn’t track. I suspect there may have been an edit issue here that was overlooked.
One fantastic moment is when Cruella gets electrocuted. It’s done brilliantly with projections and lighting, styled in a highly comedic, animation-inspired way that worked incredibly well.
Sydnie Christmas plays Cruella de Vil and gives a strong performance throughout. If anything, I think she could have leaned further into the panto-style villain. They could give her a monologue about how dogs and children smell, get the boos and hisses going! I would’ve loved the stooges to be more like the Chuckle Brothers. Overall, this is where the show seems to lose its identity, it hovers somewhere between a panto and a musical. I wish it had embraced the panto aspects more. As it stands, it’s a pleasant show, the songs are good, the performances solid but it’s the puppets that truly make it stand out.
There are various types of puppets used here: some full-body dogs, some just heads in cages, and even a cat. All work really well. At the end, when all 101 dalmatians are revealed, some even come for a walk down the aisle delighting children who reach out to pet them. Because the puppets are such a central part of the production, it felt slightly strange when, right at the end, a real dalmatian puppy was brought onto the stage. Yes, we all love a puppy and a real animal on stage will always get a cheer, but somehow, it undercut the brilliant work the cast had done in bringing the puppets to life.
This show was reviewed on the 25th July 2025 at the Eventim Apollo, London where it runs until the 30th August 2025. Tickets available here: 101 Dalmatians The Musical - Eventim Apollo Summer 2025
Review written by Valentine Gale-Sides
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Photo credit : Johan Persson
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