If your little ones are obsessed with the Dog Man books, then Cardiff is about to become their favourite place on earth. The hugely popular Dog Man series, created by Dav Pilkey, has been turned into a full-blown touring musical and it has landed at the Wales Millennium Centre, and by all accounts it is an absolute hit with young audiences.
For anyone not yet in the know, Dog Man is the story of a half-dog, half-policeman hero who came to life from the pages of Pilkey’s wildly successful graphic novel series. The books have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide and built up a fanbase that borders on the fanatical among primary school age kids. Taking that kind of beloved character from the page to the stage is always a risk, but this production has clearly pulled it off.
The show has been developed specifically as a touring stage musical, bringing Dog Man’s crime-fighting adventures to life with live performers, colourful sets and the kind of high energy that keeps restless young audiences glued to their seats. Anyone who has ever tried to get a seven-year-old to sit still for more than twenty minutes will know that is no small achievement.
What makes the production work so well is that it captures exactly what kids love about the books in the first place. The humour is daft and silly in all the right ways, the action moves at a decent pace, and there is enough going on visually to keep even the youngest theatregoers entertained from start to finish. Parents dragged along will find themselves laughing too, which is always the sign of a children’s show that has been put together with real care.
The Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay is one of the premier venues for touring productions in Wales and it provides a fantastic backdrop for a show of this scale. The building itself is impressive enough to add to the whole experience for families making a day of it in the Bay.
The Dog Man musical is part of a wider touring schedule across the UK, but Cardiff is firmly on the map as one of the key stops. For Welsh families who have been watching their kids devour the books one after another, this is the chance to see those characters brought to life in a way that no film or cartoon quite manages to replicate. Live theatre has a magic to it that is hard to explain until you see a child watching their favourite story play out right in front of them.
Tickets have been in demand so anyone thinking about going should not hang around. The Wales Millennium Centre box office is the place to check availability and get seats booked before they are gone.
For Cardiff and for Welsh families looking for something genuinely brilliant to do with the kids, Dog Man on stage is well worth the trip.
Took my nephew last year to a different venue and he absolutely loved it, proper brilliant show for the little ones. Cardiff’s well lucky to be getting this!