Dream of the Dog transfers to Trafalgar Studios
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
CRAIG Higginson’s acclaimed South African play Dream of the Dog, which has just completed its run at Finborough Theatre, will transfer to Trafalgar Studio 2 for a limited season – from May 26 to June 19, 2010.
Previously Posted: Janet Suzman stars in Craig Higginson’s acclaimed South African play, Dream of the Dog, which receives its European premiere at Finborough Theatre, where it runs from Tuesday, April 27 to Saturday, May 22, 2010.
Dream of the Dog is set in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, shortly after the millennium. Patricia and Richard Wiley, an elderly white couple, are packing up to leave the farm they’ve sold to developers. Their preparations are interrupted by the arrival of a young man – ‘Look Smart’ – who used to be one of the black workers on their estate until he disappeared fifteen years ago.
The day before ‘Look Smart’ left, something terrible happened on the Wileys’ farm. But everyone has a different memory of the dreadful event and their own role in it. As the different accounts of their shared past are unravelled, they are all forced to confront their own versions of the truth – with shocking ramifications for their lives today.
Dream of the Dog is described as a richly textured and complex story of South Africa’s emerging democracy, and its continued negotiation with its past in order to find a workable identity for its future.
Critically acclaimed in South Africa, this new play takes an unflinching look at the twin mantras of the post-Mandela age – reconciliation and forgiveness – as it asks whether black and white can ever live together peacefully.
Dream of the Dog received its world premiere in South Africa in 2007, playing at the Grahamstown Festival and the Market Theatre, Johannesburg, where it was nominated for four Naledi Awards (South Africa’s equivalent of the Oliviers) including Best New South African Play.
South African born Janet Suzman, who has been actively involved in developing the script of Dream of the Dog with Craig Higginson, is a critically acclaimed actress who has previously played many leading roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, including a memorable Cleopatra, and, most recently, Volumnia for The Complete Works Festival.
Her screen credits include The Draughtsman’s Contract, The Singing Detective, Fellini’s The Boat Sails On, and Nicholas and Alexandra for which she received Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress.
Katie McAleese (Associate Director on the Olivier Award-winning West End production of La Cage Aux Folles) directs a cast that also includes Ariyon Bakare (Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra, The Servant of Two Masters, Royal Shakespeare Company), Gracy Goldman (The Lost Voice, Royal Festival Hall, You Can’t Take It With You, Southwark Playhouse), and Bernard Kay (After Haggerty, Finborough Theatre, An Inspector Calls, Garrick Theatre, Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, RSC).
Award-winning playwright Craig Higginson is the Literary Manager of Johannesburg’s famous Market Theatre, of which Suzman is a founding Patron.
Produced by Libby Brodie for Meeting Point Productions, Dream of the Dog is designed by Alex Marker, with lighting by Michael Nabarro, sound by Andrew Pontzen and costume design by Penn O’Gara.
Running Time: 90 minutes (no interval).