The White Dalmatian

Little Claire gets a special new stuffed toy for her birthday, Dalmatian Polkadot, but one of her old toys, Witch, is jealous. She magics Dalmatian’s spots to Fairyland and all the other toys have to journey there to retrieve them.

In this musical from Czech company 2Landa, the cast take on the roles of Claire, her toys and the inhabitants of Fairyland and add a few neat twists to a fairly standard premise. At one point the story collides with a feisty version of Little Red Riding Hood who, with the help of Dalmatian, bests the wolf. And the moral centre of the tale is not Claire but the petty Witch. It’s nice to see the baddie given a personality trajectory. Her lesson is added to several other morals that sprinkle the hour without being obtrusive.

The overall effect is a show that skips along pleasingly, avoids anything challenging and (despite some diction issues) some nice musical numbers.

New Town Theatre, 220 0143, until 29 Aug, 11.45am, £10–£11 (£6–£9).