Andrea McHugh reports on some of the dogs who add a touch of festive magic to Christmas.
It’s that time of year again when theatres all over the country are gearing up to stage productions of the nation’s favourite Christmas shows. Pantomimes are incredibly popular, and often a child’s first introduction to live performances, but as we grow older, we get to enjoy the fun all over again, taking other young children to experience the magic.
For many years, there has been a history of including animals in pantomime — indeed, many of the stories are based around animals — think Puss in Boots, Mother Goose, and Little Red Riding Hood. Often, actors would dress up as pantomime horses, or life-size cats, while Cinderella would appear on stage in a carriage pulled by real white Shetland ponies.
Dogs also appear in pantomime, and from 2015 to 2016, my dogs took centre stage in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ at two theatres in Lincolnshire. At the time, my Maltese X Chinese Crested Dogs, Coco and Honey, shared the role of Belle’s best friend, comforting her when her father was stolen by the Beast, and later being part of the drama as they were stolen by the wicked witch. But of course, in the spirit of any good pantomime, all’s well that ends well, and everyone lived happily ever after.
Here, we speak to other owners whose canine companions have taken to the stage in pantos...
Panto Poodle
“Reggie is an eight-year-old Toy Poodle and my first dog,” explained Nina. “I also have Casper, who is a seven-year-old Miniature Poodle, but he doesn’t do pantomimes. Reggie has been in panto a few times in recent years after we responded to an advertisement that we saw by Polka Dot Productions on Facebook. Reggie loves absolutely everyone and has also been a therapy dog, going into care homes to cheer everyone up, which he’s brilliant at doing. I thought he might enjoy being on stage, so we went to the audition, where he performed a few tricks, and he was given the part of Belle’s best friend. The whole experience was great and I think I enjoyed it so much because I really love all the singing and dancing, but I’m never going to be a singer or dancer, so it gave me an insight into what it was like to be in that world, which was so much fun.
“The first time we did pantomime it was at the Thameside Theatre in Grays, which was very close to my home. The next year it moved to Barking in London, which was not as convenient, but I thought Reggie might not get the chance to do it again as he would be too old, so we did it. There was then a break due to the pandemic, but then it came back to Grays again! The first time we did pantomime I had one child and the last time we did it I had three children who all came to watch Reggie and were incredibly proud of him.
“When it comes to dogs being in pantomime you can never make them perform if they don’t want to do it. The dog needs to be unfazed by different experiences, sounds, and sights. They also need to spend a lot of time with the cast and develop a great relationship with everyone. Luckily Reggie is very cute, and everybody loves him.
“When Reggie waited to go on stage, I didn’t have to hold him because he knew when it was his turn to go on. Even in the dressing room, if he was snoozing and heard ‘his’ music come on over the speakers he’d suddenly become wide awake as if to say: “Come on Mum, I’m on!” He’s so clever and loves it because he gets lots of toys and treats. He had to do a little dance with Belle, which I choreographed, and it worked really well. Doing pantomime is hard work in terms of it being a busy schedule, but I’d really recommend it — after all, you get to see your dog on stage making everyone happy, so what’s not to love!”
Tricks and treats
Vet Rachel Parkes, who lives in Farndon, near Newark, has very fond memories of her Border Terrier rescue Whiz appearing on stage.
“Whiz appeared in the stage production of ‘Annie’ at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham and was also Toto in a production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’,” she recalled.
“I got Whiz when he was about four years old and brought into the surgery to be euthanised for killing chickens on the farm where he lived. Whiz ended up coming home with me, and although I tried to find him a new home, after a few months it was obvious he wasn’t going anywhere!
“Whiz was perfect with people, and a vet colleague who was involved in amateur dramatics suggested that he audition for Sandy in ‘Annie’, and he ended up getting the part.
“Whiz really loved going to rehearsals because he got lots of cocktail sausages and attention! He had to learn a couple of new things and an animal trainer helped with this. For example, Sandy is a stray dog in the show and when Annie makes friends with him a policeman asks her to prove that he’s hers by calling him to her. Whiz had to stay put for the first two times, and only come to her on the third time. I taught Whiz to respond to her subtle hand signals, and she used a slightly different vocal tone on the third call so that he ran to her.
“Things didn’t always go to plan! For example, in one scene Whiz was supposed to crawl towards Annie looking like a dejected hound as she coaxed him to her, but he became much too excited as the shows went on and started scuttling onto the stage faster and faster. By the end he just ran straight to her, which the audience loved. He was also supposed to sit next to Annie on stage as she sang the famous song ‘Tomorrow’, but sometimes his attention would wane, and he’d just wander off — casually reappearing at the end of the song! None of it mattered, as people just love seeing a dog on stage. It was nice that Whiz had his own dressing room, as it meant he could get away from everything and have peace and quiet when he wasn’t on stage, and that felt important.
“Doing stage shows with your dog is fun, if they enjoy the attention. I think they need to be quite food motivated, as you can’t really throw a ball for the dog on stage! You need to ensure that you keep very high-value treats for the actual performances and keep everything consistent, so whatever the dog has trained for in rehearsal, it needs to be the same during the actual performance.
“You also need to do a lot of training at home and spend time working with the actors to get the dog to bond with whoever he is working with on stage. It is really good fun though, and I think the rehearsals were as memorable and enjoyable as the actual show.
“Whiz was my first dog, and he was just amazing. Sadly, I lost him in 2023, when he was 16 and-a-half, but I treasure those happy memories.”