“Liam Mansfield is excellent as Scott the Scottish Terrier, the Sherlock Holmes of our story with a feisty attitude and a lot of tartan.”
Have you ever wondered what actually goes on in the mind of your canine friend? Does he interpret things the same way you do? Does she sense trouble a mile off? Do they know more than they are letting on?
Well fear not, as writer and director Stephanie Withers takes you on an intriguing journey of the notorious 2015 Crufts Dog Show poisoning, told from the perspective of our puppy pals.
‘Off the Middle’ is a theatre company dedicated to producing quality new-writing and creative storytelling. Liam Mansfield is excellent as Scott the Scottish Terrier, the Sherlock Holmes of our story with a feisty attitude and a lot of tartan.
Both Stephanie de Whalley and Paul Hilliar switch between radically different characters throughout the performance, from high maintenance Fluffy the Chihuahua to ex Andrex puppy star Lucy the Labrador.
Withers, herself a huge fan of dogs, plays on all the stereotypes in this work. Fluffy’s line ‘people just love a dog they can pop in their handbag’ not only makes the audience laugh but allows them to imagine the sort of person who would own a dog like Fluffy. Are dogs really similar to their owners? Delving into the competitive politics of dog shows, our characters portray just how cut-throat these events can be and how far participants are willing to go to win or defend their titles.
Highlights from the performance include the fantastic array of props (or should I say, many different sets of animal ears) the constant classic dog puns ‘barking mad’, ‘teach an old dog new tricks’ and one of my personal favourite scenes whereby our narrator, Scott the Scottish Terrier, is put on the spot to perfectly execute his dog show routine whilst preoccupied with questions about who poisoned Serena the Setter.
Can he remain a champion under all of this stress?
“It’s a funny world when the only thing two friends agree on is the hideousness of wet bread”
You know you’re in for some serious political eccentricity when you walk into a theatre and are greeted by various colourful picketing signs – ‘save our badgers!’, ‘my body, my rules’, ‘meat is murder’ …
Adele is a young, strong willed and opinionated character, traits that could get her very far in life. However, she is one of ‘those people’, we all know the type, that one friend you have that insists you get on board with their political and environmental views. The friend in question will never hound you into changing your own views but will subtly remind you that your actions and beliefs are wrong and that you are solely responsible for the destruction of society and, of course, the planet.
But you still love this friend and take it all with a pinch of salt because after all, they can get themselves into some awfully funny situations.
From the romance that goes wrong – Adele’s inability to understand why her date isn’t Vegan – to her attempt at inviting a homeless man to share her home, this comedy focuses on the young people of today who are passionate about changing the planet but can’t really do anything about the state of their own lives.
Writer Tom Glover (finalist in the BBC Writers Prize for radio and the joint winner of the BBC Trans comedy award) cleverly incorporates many characters into this one-woman show.
Morag Sims plays the character of Adele but also the characters of Adele’s mother, best friend, whiny niece, love-interest, homeless acquaintance, fellow protestors and more. The versatility Sims shows is incredible and the ease at which she moves from one accent to the next is both impressive and utterly hilarious.
What is poignant throughout this production is the juxtaposition between Adele’s comedic every day life and the seriousness of her mother’s cancer. It asks the audience the question, why are so many people fighting monumental world issues when they don’t even have time to look after a sick family member? Do we really have our priorities right? Can we actually do anything about the state of the world?
Adele not only sacrifices her relationship with her mother but also the other people in her life. A concerned friend, baffled by Adele’s political interests, finds that one day over lunch the only thing two friends agree on is the hideousness of … wet bread.
