A-Woof! Hey Duggee is coming to entertain Peterborough children

Duggee and the Squirrels, who join him for fun, adventures and hands-on learning at the Clubhouse, were an instant hit with viewers. Their popularity has only increased ever since, with Hey Duggee being the most streamed children’s show on BBC iPlayer in 2021.

Now Duggee and the Squirrels are coming to Peterborough New theatre on February 14 and 15 in an all-new stage production. Responsible for making that shift from screen to stage are co-adaptors Vikki Stone and Matthew Xia – who have absorbed more than 18 hours of Hey Duggee watch-time to create a theatrical experience perfect for pre-schoolers.

“When the producer Kenny Wax first approached me, he said: ‘I’m not sure if you’ve heard of Hey Duggee…’, and I said it’s one of my favourites,” explained Matthew, also the live show’s director.

“My daughter was born in 2014, the same year Hey Duggee started, so we’ve really grown up with the show.”

By contrast, Vikki, who is also the live show’s musical supervisor and arranger, hadn’t seen a single episode: “I didn’t know Hey Duggee at all when I was approached. So, I spent a long time getting very closely acquainted with the show, and now I love it!

“I very quickly got pulled into it and caught up in the world of Duggee, the Squirrels and their friends. It’s very funny and full of joy and laughs.

“And I very soon realised how special Hey Duggee is, that it sits in the realm of co-viewing; the adults are watching it with their children, not just putting it on to entertain them while they’re doing something else.”

So how did they tackle creating Hey Duggee The Live Theatre Show?

“The first day, Matthew and I sat in an office and had our own lists of our favourite bits – and we had chosen a lot of the same things,” Vikki explained.

Matthew said: “Kenny had given us pretty much free reign. That also made the challenge even greater. Taking 156 episodes, each one seven minutes long, and turning them into a complete theatrical experience for children.

“We had to keep the big format of the show, you know – where the narrator says to the Squirrels ‘Do you know what time it is?’. That’s the start of the adventure, and that had to be the same on stage.”

Matthew and Vikki have also worked closely with the TV show’s creator Grant Orchard and the rest of the team behind Hey Duggee at Studio AKA, in creating the live experience.

“It has been really interesting working alongside the Hey Duggee TV team,” Vikki said. “Duggee is effectively Grant’s baby. They are new to theatre and are amazed at what we can do that TV can’t, or how we translate things from TV into a live setting.

“We’ve brought in some of our favourite Hey Duggee stars to help the Squirrels – Mrs Weaver, Hennie and Chew Chew, who I can mention, as well as several more that I can’t… And the children and families in the audience are very much going to be part of the Squirrel gang. They will have important things to do!”

Tickets at newtheatre-peterborough.com