Bluey’s Big Play, the theatrical adaptation of the Emmy® Award-winning animated television
series, has captivated audiences of all ages, with Bluey and her family delighting fans with an
unforgettable live theatrical experience and its back on tour in the UK and Ireland.
With brilliantly created puppets, Bluey’s Big Play features the original voices from the beloved TV series, including the instantly recognisable voices of Dave McCormack and Melanie Zanetti as Dad and Mum.
We caught up with them to find out more!
Why should Bluey fans come to see Bluey’s Big Play live on stage?
Melanie: It feels like a huge extended episode, with the characters played by these enormous puppets, which beautifully bring them to life. The sets are incredible, and the music is by Joff Bush, who also does the music for the TV show. It’s 50 minutes with no interval and it’s a really fun ride, with a story that you won’t have seen on TV. I’ve seen it three times so far, including at The Theater at Madison Square Garden where the energy was so frenetic it was like being at a rock concert.
Dave: Melanie’s right. That’s exactly what it’s like; it’s like a rock concert for kids and parents,
because you’re in a big room with a lot of people making a lot of noise and it’s really exciting. I saw it at Madison Square Garden and in Sydney, and both times the reaction was incredible.
Without giving spoilers, can you tell us a bit about the plot?
Melanie: It is once again based around the family and there are some cheeky ways in which the girls get up to mischief revolving around things that they want. And of course, we all learn some beautiful lessons, just like in every Bluey story.
Dave: With Bandit, sometimes his forgetfulness leads him on funny little adventures around the house. I can’t give too much away, but it’s a very relatable story. All of your favourite characters are there, there’s singing, there’s dancing, and the way it’s done on stage with the puppets is really original.
When did your own Bluey journeys begin?
Dave: A friend of mine had a friend who was doing an animated show and they needed
someone to do the voice of the dad. I’m not an actor, I’m a musician and composer, but luckily my daughters were about four and six at the time, so it was quite relatable for me as a parent of young kiddies. I gave it a go, thinking, ‘Oh, that was fun, I wonder if anyone will ever see it’. Time passed, then I got to see it myself and I thought it was just wonderful, with the animation, the colours, the story and the music.
Melanie: I was already doing voiceovers and during one session the person running the studio said, ‘My brother’s making this animation. It’s already cast, but you have a great voice. Can I chuck down some vocals?’ After that they did their due diligence and auditioned some more people for, like, three months before coming back to me and saying, ‘Actually, you were perfect all along’. That’s how I landed the part of Chilli.
Did you think you’d still be voicing these characters all these years later?
Dave: Who could have known that? But I’m happy that it’s been so successful because it has a good heart. When you watch it it’s warm, it’s real, it’s happy and it’s sad. It’s got all the bits and pieces that make up our lives, and it doesn’t speak down to kids.
Melanie: I don’t think anyone could have known how it would take off. It was just this little show coming out of Brisbane, Australia. But it’s the funnest job ever, getting to work on excellent scripts with amazing people. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Has the success of the TV show and the live production surprised you?
Melanie: When I first saw bits of the pilot it was something I’d never seen before, so I had an
inkling that it would do well. But I didn’t know that it would end being this worldwide success,
because it feels quintessentially Australian – but then I guess it’s universal at the same time. I
think Joe Brumm, the creator, is really good at distilling the essence of what it’s like to have little kids and be in that stage of life, so I think it’s that that really resonates with people.
Dave: With the stage show, when I first heard it was happening, I thought ‘How are they going to make it work? How are they going to engage big rooms full of people?’ But they’ve made it so interactive, and it’s amazing to think how a seven-minute TV show has been turned into this touring juggernaut.
Do you think Bandit (Dad) and Chilli (Mum) are good role models for parents?
Melanie: Absolutely. With Chilli, it’s not just because she’s so warm and kind and tuned into her kids – one of my favourite things about the show is that the parents are also fallible. They’re not perfect and when they make a mistake they apologise.
Dave: Bandit is just a normal dude with some idiosyncratic foibles. It’s funny because the
characters are dogs but it’s all about being human. Things don’t always go the way we expect, but we deal with it all with love and compassion. I think that’s what has made the show so relatable to people all around the world. It’s about what we do to get through everyday life.
What’s the process in terms of you voicing the characters?
Dave: It’s all done remotely, so they send me the scripts with my bits highlighted in yellow, I read through them to get a general vibe, then normally I do four episodes in about two or three hours.
I don’t see it for a year because it goes away, gets edited, they do the animation, fix it all up,
then I see it on the telly and I go, ‘Wow, they’ve done such a good job’.
Melanie: What’s wild is that, because I record it myself, I can record from anywhere in the world. With my acting jobs I’m all over the place. I’ve recorded in Australia, New York, LA, Latvia, Florence… Wherever I am, they find a booth, put me in it and away I go. Chilli may live in Australia but she’s done a world tour!
Have you based your performances on anyone you know?
Melanie: I draw a lot from my own mum for Chilli. I’m one of six kids and she was a bit ahead of her time in terms of tuning into us as little individuals and what our particular personalities were.
We were never compared to each other.
Dave: Bandit is just me because, like I said, I can’t really act, so it was handy that when this all
started I was in a similar situation in my real life. It’s interesting because sometimes Bandit
inspires me to be a better parent. I’ll come home from doing a recording session and I’ll be like, ‘OK kids, get rid of those iPads, get rid of those iPhones, no devices, let’s do something fun’.
What are your favourite Bluey games?
Dave: Keepy uppy. Growing up in Brisbane, me and my brother would play it. He was better at it because he’s always had pretty good hand-eye coordination [laughs] but luckily I was five years older than him so I could rough him up if I got too frustrated.
Melanie: Keepy uppy is a classic. I remember playing it as a kid in school, but I wasn’t the most sporty child. I live those dreams through Chilli and her hockey prowess. I also love some of the dress-up games and how imaginative the girls are when it comes to those.
What do you think kids and their families can learn from seeing the show?
Melanie: One of the most wonderful messages of Bluey is about being present with each other and how mundane, everyday things can become magical and fun within worlds that we can create together. It’s how we live together and learn from our mistakes, and I really love the way Joe writes because nothing feels explicitly didactic. It all comes very naturally, and I think that’s genius writing. I don’t have kids, but I do have nieces and they’re around Bluey and Bingo’s ages, so it’s fun seeing the little comparisons between them.
Dave: One of the things I’ve learned from the TV show and stage play is not to sweat the small stuff. Don’t get hung up on that stuff because time passes so quickly and as a parent myself, I love that every day brings something new. I don’t look back at any stage and go, ‘I miss that’, because the next stage is so rewarding.
Can you tease anything about the forthcoming Bluey movie?
Melanie: I can tell you nothing about it other than it’s going to be amazing!
Dave: I’m constantly amazed by the creative team behind Bluey, but other than that my lips are sealed.
Bluey, Bingo, Mum and Dad are back by popular demand in the Olivier Award-nominated
live stage show Bluey’s Big Play at Sunderland Empire from Wednesday 25 – Sunday 29
March 2026. Tickets are available online now at ATGTickets.com/Sunderland *
*May be subject to a transaction fee of £3.95