101 Dalmations. To 6 January.
Northampton.
101 DALMATIANS
adapted by Debbie Isitt from Dodie Smith’s novel.
Royal Theatre To 6 January 2008.
Mon-Sun various date 10.15am, 1.15pm, 2.15pm, 5pm, 7pm.
no performance 17, 25, 31 Dec, 1 Jan.
Runs 2hr 5min One interval.
TICKETS: 01604 624811.
www.royalandderngate.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 13 December.
Good in spots.
It’s strange, in these technically advanced days, to find Dodie Smith’s cosy novel about a comfortable Primrose Hill family and its canines served up for young people at Christmas. But Danni Parr’s production steps out confidently with an opening parade of dog-walkers that shows people and their pets resembling each other in size, shape and amatory inclinations.
This is how the Dearlys meet and marry, while their respective dalmatians Pongo and Missis breed together. All would be well, if short on narrative interest, if nice, innocent Mrs Dearly didn’t run into her old school companion Cruella De Vil, an assured, smoke-and-whisky voiced devil, whose nature’s as thinly disguised as her name.
To their owners Pongo, Missis and their multiple offspring may be good companions; for Cruella the pups are a fine new coat-in-waiting. It leads to a tussle of humans and parent-dogs desperately seeking the stolen canines through traditional story ingredients of abduction, escape and retribution.
The closer it comes to panto, the weaker it is. Cruella’s two lumpen sidekicks are heavy-handed with the comedy (attempts to drag in modern TV programmes don’t help). Though Cruella has a wicked opening number, the “Winter Wonderland” finale has no place in the story.
While the men are bland or schematic in performance, Emma Thornett’s Mrs Dearly has a sympathetic cheerfulness. But star of the human show is the wicked witch herself. Georgia Roberts’ Cruella has a purringly captivating assurance, increasingly infused with alluring cruelty, mirrored in her dark house with its comfortlessly oversize, skewed-angle furniture. This woman who abducts pups for their fur has to pile on layers of garments as her cold-heartedness afflicts her with an ever-increasing chilliness.
Most fun lies with the litter of yapping pups, and the theatricality of snowfall projections and landscapes through which characters drive (in vehicles with inexplicably centrally-placed steering-wheels). When Cruella’s mob pursued the escaped puppies through the audience something strange happened. A large primary school group, who before and after this moment behaved immaculately, transformed into a howling, screaming mob misdirecting Cruella and co. Perhaps this is what’s meant by the power of theatre.
Missis: Krissi Bohn.
Perdita/Tibbs/Persian Cat/Poodle: Beverley Denim.
Horace De Vil/Saul/Sausage Dog Owner: Tom Edden.
Mr Dearly/Jasper/Great Dane: Mike Goodenough.
Cruella De Vil: Georgina Roberts.
Mrs Dearly/Sheepdog: Emma Thornett.
Pongo: James Daniel Wilson.
Lucky: Jarzinho Rapoz/Klare Hudson/Imogen Neville.
Domino: Payton Lazarus/Daisi Dawes/Alexandra Knibbs.
Dizzy: Lara Steventon/Zoe McLean/Demi Rixon.
Boo: Bethany Jones/Emelia Williams/Morgan Charles.
Millie: Hannah Magrath/Evie Probert/Camille Ling.
Duke: Ashlea Rutter/Charlie MacKenzie/Jake Goosey.
Misty: Daisy Campbell/Sophie Bell/Anya Cato.
Smokey: Lily Ransby/Jessica Lightwing/Oliver Willcocks.
Smudge: Georgia Phelan/Keeley Ennew/Milo Franchi.
Patch: Emma Smith/Leah Delahunt/Joshua Mobbs.
Scrap: Thomas Evans/Curtis Dix/Robert Haycock.
Spark: Anya Furniss/Phoebe McLaughlin/Sophie McArdle.
Pebbles: Shelbie Pettit/Jordan Stewart/Indigo Charles.
Oddball/Poodle Owner: Lucille Glennon/Amy Bell/Jessica Smith.
Raffles: Kirstie Thorneycroft/Ryan McLean/Caitlin Lumb.
Dipstick: James Crofts/Alannah Griffin/Isabel Elias.
Whizzer: Leighshy Myrie/Carys Monie/Amber Wilkins.
Scamp: Henry Castle/ Sam Norman/Clayton Parsons.
Roly: Sian Wong/Anna-Lea Mullen/William Brenan.
Bingo: Emma Howard/Lucy Dowdy/Poppy Carmichael.
Spot: Emily Griffiths/Gemma Harvey/Lauren Swann.
Dot: Eleanor Morrison/Jessica Cowley/Helena Barnes.
Mini: Ellie Hall/Summer Ihmhe/Shantini Asante.
Scratch: Olly Saxon/Kier Probert/Megan Freeman.
Scruff: Chloe Wootton/Mason Dearman/Emily Dorey.
Fluff: Luke Nunn/Finn Roberts/Harry Mockett.
Fidget: Richard Barber/Cameron Samuels/Louis Miranda-Smedley.
Chips: Holly Castle/Olivia Williams/Lily Carmichael.
Noodle: Vickie-Marie O’Sullivan/Poppy Felton/Emily Ashby.
Diamond: Rebecca Edwards/Cameron Williams/Bewlay Stanton.
Director: Danni Parr.
Designer: Ben Stones.
Lighting: David Holmes.
Composer/Lyricist: Grant Olding.
Movement: Anna Morrissey.
Animla Movement consultant: Peter Elliot.
Projections: Andrej Goulding.
Voice tutor: Gemma Boaden.
Assistant director: Suzanne Oliver.
2007-12-16 00:59:15