ZOG Stage Adaptation Will Come to London's Cadogan Hall for Summer Run

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's Zog will fly onto the stage at London's Cadogan Hall from 2 – 23 August 2026 following its major UK and Ireland tour, marking the sixth year that Freckle Productions have had a summer residency at this iconic venue.

First staged in 2019, Freckle Productions' adaptation of Zog has become a family favourite, delighting young audiences with its mix of live music, puppetry, and laugh-out-loud storytelling. With joyful songs by Joe Stilgoe, puppets designed by Little Angel Theatre, and direction by Ryan McBryde that brings Donaldson and Scheffler's world vividly to life, Zog is a theatrical treat for all ages.

Zog is the keenest dragon in Madam Dragon's school.  He's also the most accident-prone, flying into trees, and even setting his own wing alight.  Thankfully, a kind girl comes along to patch up his scratches and scrapes – but can she help him with his biggest challenge yet, so that he can finally win a golden star?

ZOG is brought to life by an incredibly talented cast, with Samuel John Taylor (Stiletto, Charing Cross; Pirates of Penzance, UK Tour) as ‘Zog', Jess Lobo (Rapunzel, Watermill Theatre; The Museum of Marvellous Things, UK Tour) as ‘Pearl', Lotti Brogan (The Witches of Eastwick, Sondheim Theatre) as ‘Madam Dragon' and ‘Governess', Hugh Cotton (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, UK Tour) as ‘Cedric' and ‘Gadabout', Lee Beka Harper (I Was A Teenage She-Devil, Edinburgh Fringe) as ‘Nell' and Swing, and Daniel Noah (The Wizard of Oz, Icon of the Seas; Grease, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line) as Swing.

Jennifer Sutherland, Executive Producer at Freckle Productions, said, “We are delighted to bring Zog to Cadogan Hall this August after a brilliant national tour. This is Freckle's sixth year at this beautiful London theatre, having previously staged Zog in 2019 and 2021, Tiddler and other Terrific Tales in 2022, Zog and the Flying Doctors in 2024 and The Baddies in 2025. Those shows played to almost 250,000 people at the Cadogan.  This hugely popular book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's had its 15th Anniversary last year, and with the launch of the new Zog TV series in June - we are so proud to be part of a wonderful celebration of Zog…an iconic character in an iconic theatre!”

Zog is written by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, brought to life with music and lyrics by Joe Stilgoe, direction from Ryan McBryde, musical direction and orchestrations from Paul Herbert, choreography by Katie Beard and set and costume design by Katie Sykes. The creative team is completed by puppetry director Edie Edmundson and associate choreographer Heather Scott-Martin.

Zog is adapted from the book by Julia Donaldson, the multi award-winning author of some of the world's best-loved children's stories including The Gruffalo and Stick Man. Julia is best known for her popular rhyming tales, especially those illustrated by Axel Scheffler, which together have sold over 75 million copies and been published in more than 100 languages.

First published in 2010, Zog quickly became a family favourite, winning the Galaxy National Book Award that year and going on to sell over 5.5 million copies worldwide, making it Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's most successful creation after The Gruffalo. In 2018, Magic Light Pictures premiered the animated film version of Zog on BBC One, broadcast at primetime on Christmas Day, with an all-star cast including Sir Lenny Henry, Tracey Ullman, Rob Brydon and Kit Harington. The half-hour special delighted millions of viewers and cemented Zog's place as a modern classic.