Dolittle, dogs & drama....
(Broadcast on BBC Radio Stoke, August 2014)
Chatting to a chimp, talking to a tiger, conversing in polar bear and python.
The classic tale of a mad doctor being nice to magic animals is of course, Dr Dolittle.
The musical begins tonight at the Stafford Gatehouse, performed by the theatre's summer school -- a cast of 88 local children, some as young as just 7 years old.
Ahead of this evening's curtain call, BBC Radio Stoke's Emma Thomas has been to their last minute rehearsals.