Adapter, Lyricist and Director: Neal Foster
Composer: Jack Poore
Dentists are never positive figures in popular culture so the stage adaptation of David Walliams’ The Demon Dentist will play into any fears about the profession. But Walliams has created a strong character in Miss Root to rival that other famous musical dentist, Orin Scrivello from Little Shop of Horrors best remembered in Steve Martin’s ferocious film performance. Adapted by Neal Foster who has written a number of new songs with composer Jak Poore, this two-hour show for a family audience plays out as a fun adventure narrative that pits a group of children against a ruthless baddie.
Alfie hasn’t been to the dentist for six years due to a bad experience which left him so terrified he has hidden all the reminder letters. When a new dentist arrives in town, Alfie’s social worker insists he go, leaving him potentially in the clutches of a dangerous tooth-loving professional. But with someone substituting the Tooth Fairy’s payments with nasty creatures, can Alfie and his friend Gabz solve the mystery and is the Demon Dentist to blame?
Foster’s production for The Birmingham Stage Company, where he is the actor-manager, is a comic strip world of grotesque characters, pacey pursuits and brightly coloured sets designed by Jacqueline Trousdale. Dashing between Alfie’s terraced home where he lives with his ailing ex-coal miner father, school and the dentist lair, Trousdale has created a series of impressive set pieces on wheels that move quickly into place allowing Foster to maintain an easy flow between scenes.
The scenario is at its best in the first half, lasting around 40-minutes, in which the story is established and the characters introduced in inventive ways, including the entertaining Miss Root who demonstrates her wares at a school assembly. There is a clear drive here, moving Alfie from his painful memory recreated in comedy flashback, to getting him into the new dentist chair but not before a Benny Hill-style chase around the streets followed by all of the townspeople. It’s a swift piece but sets up a lovely cliffhanger moment for the interval.
But the second half seems far less sure of itself, stalled by a long sequence in Alfie’s bedroom where he plants a tooth under his pillow in order to catch the perpetrator in the act. The adventure is pushed aside for a little too long by a sweet but slightly misplaced number about how much Alfie and his dad love one another. It’s a song that would fit better at the beginning of the show to introduce the relationship between them and in its present location is takes some of the energy that should, by this point, be primarily focused on the Demon Dentist to recapture the attention of its post-interval audience.
It also sets up a grandly realised if ultimately rather tragic finale and, for those who haven’t read the book, young children may find these themes a little surprising in an otherwise colourful and playful story. But the big confrontation is well managed with just enough jeopardy to create excitement and give this sequence some big dramatic moments to finish the story in style.
This is not an interactive show so there aren’t any opportunities for children to really join in, although they do occasionally, and the major characters including Sam Varley’s Alfie, Georgia Grant-Anderson’s Gabz and especially Emily Harrigan’s Miss Root are very appealing. The Demon Dentist proves a nice alternative to the plethora of pantos and Christmas shows and if only a visit to the dentist were usually this entertaining.
Runs until 8 January 2023
