Theatre Review

Fragments presents

NO DOGS

Writer: Hannah Burke

Director: Shane Dempsey

White Bear Theatre

7 – 23 December 2010

A review by Jafar Iqbal for EXTRA! EXTRA!

As an artist, you can’t go wrong with war. Actors, writers, dancers, painters – it doesn’t really matter which discipline, the effects of war are a constant source of ideas and inspiration. Forget the act of war itself, it is the stories of those involved, or those left behind, that fascinate us. Whether we call ourselves theatre-makers or theatre-goers, that fascination is always there. Strong characters going through immense change breeds a good story, and war will undoubtedly give you that.

Trying to build on that fascination are Fragments, a rising theatre company, who bring their new play No Dogs to the White Bear Theatre. Here, we’re dealing with the aftermath of the Second World War. It’s 1947. Ravaged and ruined by nearly six years of warfare, London is simply a shell of its’ former self. Those able to, have started to pick up the pieces, but it is the men and women on the edge of society who are unable to move forward. Into this unstable world arrives Anne, a run away from her native Ireland and desperate for work. Ending up as a prostitute, she starts to build relationships with those at the brothel - owner Christine, who is blind, a bitter woman who now has to depend on George, a war survivor and alcoholic. Adelaide is a seasoned prostitute, but being black has its’ own disadvantages for her. None of these people belong, and have only themselves to rely on to get by. Anne’s arrival brings conflict though, and mounting tensions threaten to break everything apart.

No Dogs is a play with a great concept, and to see post-war London through the eyes of lower society was a nice change. However, I feel that the production suffered from its short running time. Totalling up at just under seventy-five minutes, there was just not enough time to properly explore and resolve the numerous sub-plots. The main narrative strand – how Anne’s life is changed by her new life – starts to fade away as the other characters come to the forefront. There’s no denying that the other characters are interesting, but my emotional investment in Anne as the protagonist stops abruptly, the result being that, as we enter into a suddenly highly-charged climax, the emotion we want to feel for her just isn’t there.

The performances themselves are well done, with every actor playing their role with strong confidence. As Anne, Gillian Horgan is very good, and her character’s transformation excellently portrayed. Alma Eno, as rival Adelaide, is brilliant in playing the sultry vixen – again, the character isn’t given enough time to fully develop, but Eno is strong. Similarly, Max Cormac (as George) is great when on-stage, albeit in a slightly archetypal role. Paul Anthoney is strong as Charlie, the client embroiled in a love triangle. The strongest character, however, is by far that of Christine, and full credit goes to actor Terri Ann Brumby for this. Genuinely funny, she is fantastic and, where the writing may have faltered elsewhere, playwright Hannah Burke perfectly forms this character. The only thing to be criticised about the performances was the constant shouting, as I felt the play’s strongest scenes were its’ quiet ones. Whether that was an intentional effort by director Shane Dempsey, who should be commended for his overall direction of the production, I couldn’t say, but the differences in volume and their visceral impact was very evident.

Amongst the quite gritty context of the play were some nice uses of sound and lighting, adding a slightly surreal tinge to the production that brilliantly mirrored the sense of displacement and destruction in London around these characters. The fight direction was also well done, with there being quite a lot of physicality throughout the piece, though the movement between the naturalistic (full-frontal nudity) and the aesthetic (stylised sex scene) seemed to clash.

Though a good play, I think this production suffered from a lot of flaws but, in my opinion, they all centred on the lack of running time. More time to explore the characters and letting the stories develop with more detail could have turned this into a very strong piece of theatre, but it just falls short here. There is still great potential in Burke’s ability as a writer, as proven through not only her great grasp of comedy, but at those moments when the dialogue was subtle and understated. A story like this is always worth telling and a fresh take like this on post-war London was extremely interesting, albeit too brief.

Tuesday – Saturday at 7.30pm, Sundays at 5.30pm

Tickets: £12 (£10 concessions)

White Bear Theatre

138 Kennington Park Road, SE11 4DJ

Box Office: 020 7793 9193

http://www.whitebeartheatre.co.uk

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