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.
The Rocky Horror Show at the Palace Theatre, Manchester – a night of unapologetic fun
Clementine Hall
The cult classic musical, The Rocky Horror Show, began its two week run in Manchester last night.
If you’re looking for an understated, subtle musical that’ll have you elegantly tapping your foot to the beat – then this is not the show for you.
The Rocky Horror show is wonderfully weird, wildly extravagant and about as over the top as you can get. It’s about as camp as Christmas, and it’s a night out that you won’t forget.
For someone who is completely new to the Rocky Horror world, the experience of attending the show can be quite daunting as you join the queues of fishnet-wearing fans to scan your ticket.
Image: Supplied
But as soon as you’re seated and the first round of hecklers get started as soon as the curtain flies up, the anxiety melts away.
This is a show where you’re encouraged to sing and dance along, which we all did without hesitation.
The atmosphere in the Palace Theatre was nothing short of electric, from start to finish there were roars of laughter erupting from every tier of the auditorium and why? Well, there’s a couple of reasons.
Image: Supplied
Headlining the cast was Australian super star Jason Donovan starring as the iconic Dr. Frank N.Furter, and his performance was well and truly mesmerising.
Not only did Jason play the sassy sweet transvestite side of the role so perfectly, strutting across the stage with a corset and feather boa, but there were also moments of stillness that felt rather moving.
All in all, a captivating performance which underlines Donovan’s star studded status in the musical theatre universe.
Images: Supplied
Throughout the entire cast there wasn’t a weak link, Connor Carson and Lauren Chia are suitably sexy and strong as Brad and Janet.
Job Greuter delivers a freakishly brilliant Riff Raff whilst Jackie Clune gives a masterclass in comic timing as the omnipotent Narrator.
A standout moment was of course the Time Warp singalong, where the whole cast led us in the iconic dance as we shimmied back and forth in the stalls.
Overall, if you’re looking for a fantastic night out of frivolity and fun then the Rocky Horror Show is for you and we’re looking forward to seeing theatre-goers clad in gold hot pants and fishnet ties strutting around Manchester over the next two weeks.
The Rocky Horror show is at the Palace Theatre until Saturday 31 May and you can get your tickets here.
An outdoor cinema is screening a Wicked sing-a-long this autumn
Thomas Melia
There’s an outdoor cinema screening a sing-along version of the global phenomenon Wicked later this year near just outside of Greater Manchester.
Arley Hall, in Cheshire, is hosting a very special screening of one of the biggest films of 2024, Wicked, where guests will be allowed to sing along during the film.
This one-off event will come as a relief to some fans of the movie-musical, as back when it was released, one attending was encouraged not to sing along as it may disrupt the film itself.
With a musical stacked with hits like ‘Popular’, ‘Dancing Through Life’ and obviously the huge number that is ‘Defying Gravity’, how could you not take a moment to test out the vocal cords?
Maybe we’ll see some mini Elphabas and Glindas showing up at the Wicked sing-a-long, Arley Hall.Sit back, relax, and defy some gravity.
Now, Arley Hall has teamed up with events and entertainment company Adventure Cinema for an outdoor experience that promises to be a fantastic, family-friendly day out watching Elphaba and Glinda on the big screen.
There are various ticket options available for this Wicked sing-along showing, which are all priced under a reasonable £30 range.
The standard ticket, which requires you to bring your own camping chair or blanket, is only £17.37, while the premium ticket (including a premium deck chair and prime position) costs £25.21.
Throughout the weekend, Adventure Cinema are making themselves comfy in Arley Hall‘s grounds, as they are set to play some huge movie titles and host even more wonderful events.
For instance, there will be an ‘Outdoor Cinema ExtrABBAganza’ courtesy of Mamma Mia!, a double-whammy thanks to ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘The Stick Man’ playing back to back as well as ‘Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration’ and ‘Pretty Woman’ too.
There’s an ExtrABBAganza coming to Arley Hall the same weekend.Just you, your blanket and a crowd of Wicked fans ready to sing their hearts out.
While we wait eagerly for the second part of the Wickedmovie-musicaladaptation, why not let yourself loose and see if you can out-sing the witches of Oz – Think I’ll leave the singing to Cynthia and Ariana.
The movie-musical became one of the backbones of pop culture in 2024, generating various quoted phrases and viral moments, including the unforgettable ‘Holding Space’ meme alongside many others.
Anyone looking to attend the Wicked sing-along at Arley Hall on Friday, 19 September from 6pm to 10:15pm can find all ticket prices and more information HERE.
Oli Lowe -
2nd August 2024 
