101 Dalmatians have arrived at the Palace Theatre in puppet form, offering family-friendly entertainment, heart warming themes and one EVIL villain.
With extremely impressive production value, ranging from magnificent set pieces to lavish costumes, as well as some of the best puppets I’ve yet to see on stage – 101 Dalmatians will leave all entertained, from little ones to… not so little ones.
I came into this production of 101 Dalmatians in Manchester in quite an interesting position, because if I’m being completely honest, I don’t think I’ve watched any of the movie adaptations or read any versions of the original novel since I was a young child.
So in what is quite a rarity for myself, I was watching a musical in which I hadn’t a clue what was going to happen. This made for a fun and entertaining ride throughout the entire show, although I’m sure those who’re already familiar with the plot will still find as much enjoyment as I did.
The show as a whole was thoroughly spellbinding – offering fantastic ensemble numbers, belly-laugh comedy, a sincere and wholesome plot and as we’ll discuss in a moment, a truly fitting nemesis.
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To highlight individual performances, I’d like to first start with the protagonists of our story. Samuel Thomas as Tom, Jessie Elland as Danielle, Linford Johnson as Pongo and Emma Thornett as Perdi.
These four made a superb litter (little dog based pun for you there), spending the entirety of Act One as a foursome, building up their characters and demonstrating to the audience how important they all are to one another.
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Kym Marsh as Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians in Manchester. Credit: Supplied, Phil Tragen
Then in Act Two splitting up into their separate human/animal dynamic duos, both venturing on different quests with the sole purpose and saving the 99 other dalmatians.
Special shout-out to Linford, Emma and the other members of the ensemble who throughout the show expertly maneuvered the K9 puppets in such a way that the biggest compliment I could pay them, is to say, that after a while I forgot they were even there.
Now for the grey area between protagonists and villains… Casper and Jasper, portrayed wonderfully by Charles Brunton and Danny Hendrix. This dynamic duo offered constant comic relief and had by far the most fleshed out character arcs of the entire show. Transforming from clueless sidekicks, to misguided villains all the way through to repentful heroes.
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This brings us to the one, the only… Cruella De Ville. Portrayed by Kym Marsh, there was no escaping the fact that she was the person people in the audience were most eager to see. With expectations high and being tasked with taking on the role of such an iconic villain, I’m happy to say that Kym 110% delivered.
With an ominous stage presence, Kym held the audience in the palm of her hand throughout every scene she featured in. Offering up stellar vocals and dance moves to match, she really was the villain the dalmatians needed.
All in all, 101 Dalmatians thrills as it offers big set pieces, flashy musical numbers, terrifying villains, magical puppetry and all out family-friendly entertainment.
Dear Evan Hansen at the Palace Theatre Manchester – a sensitive tale of teenage torment
Kristen MacGregor-Houlston
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Dear Evan Hansen,
Today is going to be a good day because you’re running at the Palace Theatre until the 22 February and the show is fantastic.
It has been a pretty tricky 10 years since the show first debuted, with Covid, worldwide unrest, wild fires, etc and the storylines that make up the fabric of the show are more prominent than ever before.
With music and lyrics written by the talented duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, famous for creating some of the most popular modern musicals of our time (La La Land and Greatest Showman), this show reaches heights well beyond the treetops of its rivals.
The show covers some quite sensitive topics including suicide, grief and mental health, which are all treated with compassion and gentle care whilst still being realistic and honest with the audience.
We follow the story of Evan Hansen (Ryan Kopel), a socially anxious teen who is trying to navigate high school, his mental health and trying to be noticed by those around him. His mum (Alice Fearn) is a single mother, trying to do right by her son whilst doing her best to create a life for them.
Evan has a run in with Connor Murphy (Will Forgrave who stepped in for Killian Lefevre), a troubled young man battling with a number of demons and fighting with his rich yet dysfunctional family played by Helen Anker (Cynthia Murphy – mum); Richard Hurst (Larry Murphy – dad); Lara Beth-Sas (Zoe Murphy – sister and stand-in for Laren Conroy). Connor finds a letter that Evan has written to himself that mentions his sister Zoe and causes him to spiral out of control.
It is Evan’s letter that his family finds on Connor when they discover that he has unfortunately taken his own life. This sets in motion a profusion of events that catapult Evan into the spotlight as his letter is mistaken for a deep friendship between the two. His “family friend” Jared (Tom Dickerson) encourages Evan to keep up the facade which really gets out of control when the well-meaning Alana (Vivian Panka) takes the school-wide movement of grief to new heights.
Dear Evan Hansen is in Manchester until 22 February 2025
Ryan’s portrayal of Evan is nothing short of magical. His anxious ticks are natural and respectful, pulling you in with compassion for his character and his timing is impeccable. His vocals are absolutely electrifying, every song is a power house, emotive performance with barely a dry eye in the entire audience, especially after the iconic “You will be found.”
Alice Fearn deserves a special mention for her depiction and performance as Heidi Hansen. Reflecting how many parents must feel in trying to do the best for their children and feeling like they always come up short. Her vocals were fantastic throughout, but her final solo song “So Big/So Small” had everyone weeping.
Not all the vocal performances were of a high calibre, but this is likely down to either first night nerves or just the unfortunate comparison to Ryan, Alice or Vivian. Some of the dancing by one or two of the ensemble also seemed slightly robotic, although as a previous treader of the boards myself, I know first-hand that some people just aren’t natural movers (myself included) and this doesn’t detract from the absolute spectacle that is this show.
The show is only on a short run, from 18 – 22 February at Palace Theatre, Manchester, so if you miss it, I recommend chasing it to another theatre on its UK Tour, you won’t regret it.
Audience members ejected from Dolly Parton musical in Manchester due to homophobic heckling
Daisy Jackson
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The Manchester run of Here You Come Again, a new Dolly Parton musical comedy, has been repeatedly disrupted by vile homophobic heckling from the audience, its star has revealed.
Actor and West End star Steven Webb shared a video addressing the issue on TikTok, saying that audience members had to be ejected from the Manchester Opera House.
The star of the lively new musical, which tells the story of a diehard Dolly Parton fan and is packed with the country star’s biggest hits, said the cast had faced an ‘insane’ amount of homophobia.
Steven said they once had to do a full show stop in Manchester and leave the stage after one audience member was ‘disgusted that there was a gay character on stage’ and began shouting mid-show, causing ‘a ruckus’ in the audience.
He said: “It’s a Dolly Parton musical, it’s gonna be a little bit gay, obviously.”
Steven also said: “Travelling the country and seeing how many people literally cannot bear to see a gay person depicted on stage, it’s wild. I feel very sorry for them.”
The Manchester Opera House stressed that it has a ‘zero tolerance’ policy to ‘bullying, harassment, or any form of abusive behaviour towards our cast, crew, or staff’.
The theatre, and its sister venue the Palace Theatre, said: “Our theatre team is committed to creating a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for everyone – both on and off the stage.
“Whilst these incidents are rare, we have a zero-tolerance policy to bullying, harassment, or any form of abusive behaviour towards our cast, crew, or staff. Anyone engaging in such conduct will be removed from the venue immediately.
Actor Steven Webb stars in Here You Come Again, a Dolly Parton musical, in Manchester. Credit: TikTok, @thatsteviewebb
“Thank you to all our theatre goers who continue to act with respect and kindness towards others.”
Steven said in his video: “The amount of audience members we have had to eject from our show due to homophobia is… insane. It is insane.
“Just this week in Manchester alone, last night we had to eject someone who was shouting out slurs, and on Wednesday we had to stop the whole show.
“We had to do an entire show stop and leave the stage, because a woman was so disgusted that there was a gay character on stage, and she was shouting out and then all the audience started shouting at her and then there was a sort of massive ruckus. So she eventually was ejected and we could start again, but we were stopped for 15 or 20 minutes.
“It’s crazy. It’s happening nearly every single week and it blows my mind. This is a Dolly Parton musical, first of all.
“It’s a Dolly Parton musical, it’s gonna be a little bit gay, obviously.
“It’s really opened my eyes, because we’re in such a bubble in this industry. But travelling the country and seeing how many people literally cannot bear to see a gay person depicted on stage, it’s wild. I feel very sorry for them.”
Oli Lowe -
2nd August 2024 
