Dr Dolittle, Hippodrome, B’ham

By Eileen Wells

Never work with children or animals, according to the old showbusiness saying, but the stage version of this classic musical cuts out the chaos by the use of clever costumes and puppets instead.

In fact Jip the Dog is undoubtedly one of the big hits of the show, along with a pair of dancing orangutans and, of course, the legendary two-headed Pushme-Pullu.

It’s a tall order for this production’s animal antics to match the magic created by a host of creatures and editing wizadry available for the famous 1967 film.

But the audience seemed charmed and amused by the costumed characters – despite the fact the elusive giant pink sea snail looked more like a Dalek.

However, the real human star of the show is the effervescent Tommy Steele, who retains his cheeky-chappie sparkle after a career spanning almost 50 years.

And it is testament to the popularity of both Steele and the show itself that it is returning to the Midlands just six months after scoring a hit at Wolverhampton’s Grand. On the whole it’s an excellent evening of old-fashioned family fun. It runs until Saturday, May 17.