Brought together by their dalmatians, Pongo and Perdi, puppy love is in the air when dog shelter worker, Danielle, meets aspiring fashion designer, Tom. When Tom’s dalmatian-inspired designs catch the eye of top designer and animal fur savant Cruella De Vil, he thinks his dreams are finally coming true. But what happens when the dream becomes a nightmare? With the obsessed De Vil intent on acquiring dalmatian puppy fur and 101 dalmatians missing in the area, do Tom, Danielle and their dogs have what it takes to save their four-legged family?

The show is an adaptation of the 1956 children's novel, written by Dodie Smith. It made its debut back in 2022 at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and ran from July to August that year. It then went on hiatus and returned this year, having been completely revamped and altered, at New Wimbledon Theatre in June. It has since been on a tour across the UK, with the performances at Theatre Royal Brighton marking the end of the tour, but the production will return to London at the Eventim Apollo in July 2025.

The design of the show is very bold and in your face, really capturing the essence of dalmatian as if Cruella had designed it herself. We love the way the framing of the stage space is altered to give the stage more depth and to streamline the audience’s attention to the centre of the stage. This encourages us to really focus in on the detail within both the sets and the puppets, helping the world of the show to vividly come alive. The projections are sporadic so when they are used, they’re used well. The puppets, as they should be, are the real stars of the show. The actors blend with their puppets so well that even the most sceptical audience member can hardly tell the difference, making their performances as singing dogs fully believable, capturing the magic of childhood imagination.

The production at Theatre Royal Brighton is particularly important in terms of the evolution of the show due to a key cast member change: Kerry Ellis taking over the iconic role of Cruella De Vil.

Kerry Ellis’ performance is second to none. There is no one more perfect for the role of Cruella than her and she really makes the role her own. We all know, having grown up with this classic story, that Cruella is the villain, meaning that the second this character appears on stage we already hate her. What Ellis does, a real credit to her immense talent as an actress, is to make Cruella gradually evolve. She transitions from being someone who is off putting in an uncanny way, the stereotypical nonchalant, cold hearted, fashion house icon, who’s only really interested in top tier au courant fashion, to someone who is laser-focused, unbreakable and willing to kill anything that moves to achieve her desires.

Ellis’ voice control is breathtaking, from her sultry voice in ‘Animal Lover’ to her subtle tonal shift in ‘The Pub Song’ when convincing Casper and Jasper that crime is okay because even the most seemingly spotless organisations are fundamentally corrupt. Her performance in the Act One closing number, ‘Bring Me Fur’ is chilling, leaving the audience terrified of what is to come. Her performance in ‘I Can Smell Puppy’ takes what would otherwise look comedic and ridiculous on stage and turns it into something inherently sinister and unnerving. The villainous laugh is also essential to this character, with most actors failing in this aspect through making it too pantomime-esque, but Ellis has this nailed, leaving us haunted.

The songs in the show are consistent, we find ourselves wanting to sing along, especially to ‘One Added Extra’. The interval placement is spot on, meaning that the audience comes back revitalised and ready for a longer second act. This show also doesn’t miss a beat, it doesn’t underestimate the intellect of its audience, meaning that it does meet the family target audience. It’s unsettling when it needs to be, has moments which are upsetting and difficult to watch, but it also has moments of pure fun which will have you wagging your tail with joy. Not to mention that the live dalmatian puppy really stole the show at the end and had the audience collectively “awwww” at the cuteness.

However, scene transitions do feel clunky in places and there are times when it is obvious that they’re prolonging a joke, song or scene for the sake of a set transition. This does mean that some scenes drag on longer than they should and can make audience members briefly lose attention in the show. To improve, these definitely need to be sharper to keep up with the general pace of the show. Additionally, the choreography in ‘Animal Lover’ is a bit lacklustre, especially because the cast don’t use puppets for most of the scene so they do have the opportunity to do more inventive and expensive choreography. The audience knows it’s a fashion house, there’s no need for voguing to represent this.

Villainous in the best way and barking great fun. Stylish. Memorable. A vibrant tribute to every animal lover.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Megan O’Neill

101 Dalmatians plays at Theatre Royal Brighton until 5 January 2025, with tickets available here.