Author:Dodie Smith,Patricia Hodge,Brenda Blethyn,Full Cast
Patricia Hodge stars as Cruella de Vil in this full-cast dramatisation of the much-loved story. Pongo lives happily with his human pets Mr. and Mrs. Dearly in a large house in Regent's Park. When his wife Missis produces a litter of 15 beautiful pups, life seems wonderfully complete. But the mysterious disappearance of the puppies suddenly throws everything into turmoil. Pongo, one of the keenest brains in Dogdom, quickly realises that he and Missis are the only hope for their youngsters' survival. And so the fearless pair set out on a bleak winter's journey into great dangers, helped along the way by the gallant Colonel, a sheepdog of the Old School. Dodie Smith's canine classic brought pleasure to millions as a Disney film. All its original charm and warmth are fully evident here in this full-cast dramatisation which stars Patricia Hodge as Cruella de Vil, along with Joan Sims, Brenda Blethyn, Nicky Henson and Polly James.
It's science fiction and it's extremely funny...inspired lunacy that leaves hardly a science fiction cliche alive.
—— Washington PostThe feckless protagonist, Arthur Dent, is reminiscent of Vonnegut heroes, and his travels afford a wild satire of present institutions.
—— Chicago TribuneVery simply, the book is one of the funniest SF spoofs ever written, with hyperbolic ideas folding in on themselves.
—— School Library JournalA sci-fi book, packed full of adventure and humour
—— The GuardianIn his major postwar novels, the pain and earnestness of the individual’s quest for ‘meaning and design’ can be felt more intensely than perhaps anywhere else in contemporary Western prose
—— Sunday TimesAn antipodean King Lear writ gentle and tragicomic, almost Chekhovian . . . an intensely dramatic masterpiece.
—— The Australian