Tiny & Tall Production’s The Detective Dog – 28 May 2025, Sheffield Playhouse
Review by Claire Taranaski.
Tiny & Tall Productions stage adaptation of The Detective Dog is a delightfully gleeful production that has been designed with its’ audience completely in mind (children aged 3+) and is a perfect introduction to theatre whether you know the book already, are a Julia Donaldson fan (who isn’t) or are completely new to her beautiful children’s rhyming tales.
The production delightfully and seamlessly introduces children to a whelm of performing arts including mime, puppetry, dance and musical numbers, as well as combining spoken and written word with British sign language without it feeling forced or out of place (whichever form of language is best for you) and left us all leaving the venue knowing the sign for book.
My five year old daughter who attended with me kept telling me how cute the dog puppet was (puppet designer and maker Jess Jones has brought the book’s illustrator Sara Oglivie’s vision to life) especially when it was sniffing around the audience (she is adamant it licked her), loved the dancing and musical numbers and made me buy her a copy of the book straight after the show. This led to us reading it on the tram home and confirming that the show perfectly brought the book to life. On the subject of the Sara’s original illustrations, these were also delightfully reflected in the video design (thanks to Christopher Harrisson), which also helped move the story forward, added to the movement of the show and showcased, whilst clearly defining the difference between the story words and the song lyrics.
Playing a variety of roles including Nell the dog’s owner Peter, the three performers Mala Ayling, Amy Murray and Hannah Tudge approached their roles with childlike glee, bringing out their inner small person and playing to and not down to their audience. At one point my daughter did say that they were only doing something to distract from the scene changes but this is what happens when your inquisitive daughter has already seen multiple children’s shows and I don’t think any other children noticed.
A great thing about being in the Playhouse at Sheffield Theatres is that the audience can enjoy up close this show in an intimate setting with the adaptable set and performers making full use of the small stage area and the surrounding seating and helping to make it an early theatre visit young children and their families will not forget for a long time.
Although the show is only in Sheffield for a couple of days, after going via Stockton and before it heads to Lincoln, it will be just up the road at the Barnsley Civic on 7th June and we urge anyone with young children looking for a delightful (I’m not apologising how many times I have said that word in this review) not to miss it.