Dog Man The Musical at Wycombe Swan Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Mel Randle
Dog Man The Musical…. Now there’s something I never thought I’d hear myself say, but here I am writing a review for it! This is a new musical based on the best selling comic book series by Dav Pilkey about a policeman and his dog who are injured in a bomb explosion, so they sew the dog’s head on the man’s body and hey presto, you have Dog Man! (yeah sounds worse than it is!) As someone who sells children’s books for a living, I know how popular this series is! Following the success of the animated movie last year, Dog Man continues to attract 7 and 8 year olds everywhere, but is a musical a step too far?
I went to the theatre with an open mind having not read the books or seen the film, although if I am completely honest, I had made my mind up and it was one of dread. I took my daughter (10) who is a fan and decided this was an evening for her. I was just the taxi and chaperone. I don’t mind admitting straight away how wrong I was!! What followed was an evening of entertainment and absolute joy that had the audience (and by that I mean mainly the adults) laughing – proper belly laughs – throughout.
The cast was made up of six actors transforming themselves into different guises throughout with a simple prop change, added piece of costume or puppet. Everything about each and every one screamed happy, fun and engaging. These are the perfect ingredients for keeping the attention of a room full of children which, let’s be honest, is probably one of the hardest jobs around! A special shout out must go to the actor Renan Teodoro playing dog man. It can’t be easy going on stage every day, often more than once, and only speaking dog, but his woofs were spot on, so much so that I actually found myself understanding everything he said. His facial expressions and panting were also great, but I did have a little chuckle to myself remembering when my mum used to tell me if the wind changed I’d stay like that!
The storyline, I believe, stuck to a familiar story for readers, and all characters were those that Dog Man fans love. I would imagine through the eyes of a seven year old it would have been like seeing the book come to life. The scenery was very childlike with a comic book feel to it, the costumes were very simple but effective and the original songs written for this musical were very uplifting and catchy. All the characters spoke to the audience which made us feel involved, and that interaction continued right to the end. However the comedy and delivery of comic moments were what made this whole show for me, whether it was Dog Man cocking his leg or the evil cat hissing. I realised quite early on that I was grinning from ear to ear involuntarily and that wonderful, joyous feeling carried on until the end.
I don’t think any amount of talking or writing about this show will do justice to how much fun it was. I would even go so far as to say you don’t need kids to go see it! But I will say I highly recommend it and if your children are Dog Man fans, I think it would be an injustice not to take them to see it!
Rating: 5/5
Dog Man The Musical is at The Wycombe Swan until Thursday 28th October 2026
Ticket prices from £27
For more information and to book visit https://trafalgartickets.com/wycombe-swan-theatre/en-GB/event/family/dog-man-the-musical-tickets