Public Servant Lifestyle

Warner Brothers’ phenomenally successful worldwide brand of Scooby-Doo retains all of its familiar small-screen magic in a first class stage adaptation.

Following previous sell-out tours both here and in the US, Warner Bros - in association with ThemeSTAR - bring the smash hit family entertainment of Scooby-Doo! Live on Stage! back to Britain, by popular demand.

Scooby, Shaggy and the Mystery Inc. gang take to the road in their trusty Mystery Machine, bringing the live cartoon experience of their Stagefright show to twenty-four towns and cities in a five month tour! As Scooby would no doubt say: 'Rikes!'

National Tour

So far ghostly goings-on and supernatural scenarios have been keeping audiences happily spooked on this national tour which kicked off at the Theatre Royal in Norwich just in time for the half-term holidays and is continuing through a massive twenty-six week run - visiting many new locations and bigger theatres (see listings below) including the show’s London debut at the Hammersmith Apollo over the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend (5-8 April). So Scooby devotees who weren’t able to catch the show the last time around will now get the chance to see their favourite canine friend and his ragtag group of teen sleuths at a venue near them.
Hanna-Barbera

In this exciting production - written and directed by the acclaimed Jim Milan, founder of the Crow’s Theatre in Toronto, Canada - the beloved Hanna-Barbera characters of Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne and Fred come to life live on stage as they bring their comical brand of detective work to theatres across the country to solve a classic Scooby-Doo mystery. The show takes the form of a 'long lost episode' in which Scooby and friends solve the mystery of a supernatural spectre wreaking havoc at the old 'Clawhammer' movie studios. The gang faces one hilarious situation after another as they hunt for clues on the set of a monster movie directed by Daphne’s (Kate Chamuris) uncle.

So, what’s this production actually like? Well we caught it at The Lyric Theatre in Salford's The Lowry early in the play’s run on a packed opening night. A very polished production from start to finish the theatre, stage crew and cast did a first class job of rendering the cartoon adventures of the ‘Scooby Gang’ (AKA the mystery-attracting ‘Mystery Inc.’) just as animated as they ever were on screen as three-dimensional characters.

The Mystery Machine

All the archetypes of the various versions of the TV shows were on display; from the gangs’ distinctive Mystery Machine van (very impressive in full size on the stage, it has to be said) to the madcap plot and the cartoon’s signature mood-creating music stings – which appear throughout the production. Add to that a few standard 'spooky' locations - centring on the abandoned film studio pressed back into service by Daphne’s’ ‘Uncle Tim’ (Francisco Trujillo) and assorted weird goings on and you’ve got a Scooby-Doo mystery in the making.

In the course of trying to unravel the mystery of the haunted horror film the gang encounter all manner of plot devices that will be familiar to - and expected by - even the least devoted of Scooby-Doo fans. These include: a hypnotism device (at which much 'being hypnotised' acting ensues), a wind machine (with much exaggerated ‘being-blown-about acting’ to match), some hidden treasure, Fred (Jamie Wilson) and his over-complicated plans and odd desire to ‘split up’ at every hint of danger, an attempted un-masking or two, disguises (at one point Scooby and Shaggy adopt the guises of mother a baby from the contents of a dressing up box and another goofing around as a pair of rappers – complete with a song), Velma losing her glasses, Shaggy and Scooby thinking about food etc...

Slapstick

Pierre Marc Diennet – playing Scooby himself – makes a great job of playing the Great Dane at the centre of all the action, complete with the all-important chemistry with his best buddy Shaggy (played by Matthew Quinn). This – naturally – amounts to much visual humour and plenty of traditional slapstick. At one point a movie star gets a face full of spaghetti as the two friends obsess over the craft service table on the film set and while tackling a spectre Scooby assumes the role - complete with outfit and fitting fey voice - of a chambermaid. The pair also take part in a series of sight gags – as befits their cartoon counterparts - including an 'impossible' chase into and out of a series of doors that definitely features a ‘stunt’ hindquarter for Scooby at one point!

Before that the two pals hold each others’ hands to stop their knees knocking with fear, then there’s a blackout which lifts to find them both looking the other way with the spectre standing between them, each oblivious. Superb timing and much mugging (in particular by Scooby-Doo) makes this scene a real belly laugh. The kids (young and old) all around us certainly seemed to be lapping it up).

Much effort and thought has clearly gone into making this production as close to the cartoon and it's 'reality' as possible - from the opening 'freeze' of the Scooby Gang on stage in typical cartoon title sequence stances to the foursome (plus Scooby) exploring a spooky room each with a torch in hand. This is especially true during a classic 'everything goes dark' scene - where only the illuminated eyes of the 'gang' can be seen by the audience - a straight lift from the cartoon series.

Matthew Quinn as Shaggy does a great job of maintaining his 'Casey Kasem' voice even during a rendition of They Long To Be Close To You by Bacharach & David and special praise needs to go to Liz Pierce – playing glasses wearing ‘brainy one’ Velma Dinkley – for capturing the voice, stance and mannerisms of her cartoon counterpart so completely.

Faithful

Much more faithful to the cartoon series that originated it than the two feature films starring Sarah Michelle Gellar made a few short years back this is no 21st Century 'reboot' of Scooby-Doo but a true live-action cartoon unfolding on stage in front of you. This show will make a great night out for anyone who has fond memories of watching Scooby and co tip-toe their way through the dusty corridors of a spooky castle/haunted amusement park/eerie mine workings (delete where applicable!).

So, whether you are looking for captivating fun for children or you're a big kid wanting to take a nostalgic trip down memory lane, Scooby-Doo! Live on Stage! will be the tastiest treat in town with laughter, suspense and a classic ‘Whodunit?’ mystery that will have the whole family howling for more! This is definitely one Scoob-tastic family treat to take your little (or large) pups to. Now then, when's the Ren & Stimpey stage show coming out?

"Scooby and the gang brought to life on stage is a truly magical experience." - The Manchester Evening News.

“This is big, loud and whacky in the extreme...all credit to the actors for the way it translates so faithfully to the stage” - The Stage.

"You will be loving every minute of it." - The Birmingham Mail.

All images are TM & © Hanna-Barbera 2006/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. PSP Ltd is not responsible for the contents of external websites.

More information available in Humour, On Stage