Dog Man: The Musical at London’s Southbank Centre and on tour – review

If you have a child in primary school, you likely won’t need an introduction to the Dog Man graphic novels by Dav Pilkey. They’re nothing short of a sensation, and my seven-year-old has devoured every one of the 15 or so instalments, along with seemingly most of his classmates.

Given its bestseller status, it was inevitable there’d be a theatrical treatment – as they say in the show, “they’ll turn anything into a musical these days” – and this one has had a long route to these shores, having first appeared Off-Broadway way back in the pre-pandemic days of 2019.

It loosely weaves together four of the stories, with an added framing device that sees friends and Dog Man “creators” George (Ricardo Mendes) and Harold (Peter Lavery, who was covered by Richener Bissereth at the performance I attended) decide to try and write a musical, with nods to Annie and A Tale of Two Cities.

So it becomes something of a beginner’s guide to musical theatre, as well as a checklist of favourite moments from the books (I was glad to see the flip-o-rama, whereby the pages take on a flicker book effect, get a mention). Brad Alexander’s peppy songs (book and lyrics are by Kevin Del Aguila) are mostly formulaic and derivative, but this actually feels fitting in the show-within-a-show context.

The colourful cardboard-themed set (the design is by Timothy R Macabee) resembles something out of a budget kids’ TV show, though again the homespun vibe is arguably in keeping with the theme. Set pieces such as the creation of Dog Man – who is the combination of a police officer’s body and a dog’s head (he has as dark an origin story as any comic book hero) – are performed with minimal effects, a large sheet held up as Renan Teodoro puts on a stick-on nose and floppy ears.

Hi-tech it may not be, but there are some enjoyable performances, notably from the energetic Teodoro (whose physical clowning compensates for the fact he can only bark), Sam Kipling as campy, vibrato-singing villain cat Petey, and Rebecca-Jo Roberts as his happy-go-lucky clone. Elsewhere, the cast are frankly a bit patchy, and it doesn’t help that the acoustics are tinny and many lyrics get lost in the noise – surely a show based on a comic book could have some surtitles.

At least director-choreographer Alison Pollard (the original was Jen Wineman) ensures there’s enough dynamism to keep the action moving, even if the plot – which also involves an evil fish (Vanessa Dumatey) and a device dreamed up by Petey called an 80HD, in a nod to Pilkey’s ADHD – echoes the books in being somehow impenetrable to the adult eye.

If, like me, you’re the parent of a Dog Man aficionado, a visit is very likely in your stars and, to be fair, there are worse adaptations to be experienced in this age bracket (he says, recalling Peppa Pig Live with a twitch). However, if you’re just looking for some lo-fi family-friendly fun with a few good songs, I’d hold on for panto season.