The Little Dog Laughed: A hack's view.

Let's get one thing straight; I'm not a theatre reviewer. I'm a cycling journalist who knows a cyclist who works in theatre. The old adage "it's not what you know, it's who you know" holds true in this scenario. While I know more about handlebars and chains than ad-libs and breaking a leg (and although that can happen in cycling, you wouldn't wish it upon someone embarking on a ride), I'm always up for some entertainment of the non-two-wheeled kind. So it was off to Downstage to experience The Little Dog Laughed.

As with most things I undertake in the course of a typical day, my mind was a blank canvas, with only a cursory glance at the facebook blurb about the play for ammunition. Basically, I had no idea what I was about to see.

The premise of The Little Dog Laughed is, in a nutshell, famous actor with suppressed homosexuality falls for rent-boy with brassy girlfriend, but can't make it public for fear of career destruction and wrath of controlling, outspoken agent. The result is a web of deception, lies, and internal struggles with how to deal with the situation. Hey, I said it was in a nutshell!

Without going too much into the actual plot, I enjoyed the story, and was kept interested for the whole two hours, something I thought I may have struggled with when I saw the length in the preview. The acting was very impressive on the whole, although I wondered if the American accents were necessary for an NZ production of a US play... probably, but what do I know about theatre? I found the character of Dianne to be hard to understand on occassion, with her rapid-fire vocal delivery. Most of all I found the character of Alex to be the most human and accessible, but all the actors delivered great performances. New Zealand's got talent? For sure.

And it was definitely a better way to spend a Wednesday night than watching Ice Road Truckers!

16 Chapman Tripp Award nominations for shows that played at Downstage in 2008

Downstage is delighted to announce that our current production The Little Dog Laughed has been nominated for four Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards this year. The play is on till 29 November and is getting rave reviews, so take your chance to see it now!

With a total of 16 nominations for productions that have been staged at Downstage we are looking forward to the Awards Night on Sunday 7th December at the Wellington Town Hall.

Congratulations to all nominees!

The Little Dog Laughed
- Director of the Year (Willem Wassenaar)
- Set Designer of the Year (Daniel Williams)
- Most Promising Female Newcomer (Sophie Hambleton)
- Outstanding Performance (Kip Chapman)
Read more about Kip here

Paua
- Director of the Year (Tim Spite)
- Lighting Designer of the Year (Natasha James)
- Production of the Year

On the Conditions and Possibilities of Helen Clark Taking Me as Her Young Lover
- Most Original Production of the Year
- Most Promising Male Newcomer of the Year (Arthur Meek)
- Production of the Year

Bare
- Most Promising Female Newcomer of the Year (Morgana O’Reilly)

Adagio
- Outstanding Composer of Music (Jonathan Crayford)

2b or nt 2b?
- Outstanding New New Zealand Play of the Year (Sarah Delahunty)

Where We Once Belonged
– Outstanding New New Zealand Play of the Year (David Armstrong)

Sensible Susan and the Queen’s Merkin
- Supporting Actor of the Year (Felix Preval)

Te Karakia
- Outstanding Performance/Actress of the Year (Miriama McDowell)

The Little Dog Laughed: Ellen's blog

Stupid people make me want to hurt myself. They are everywhere! There needs to be a law, if you are an idiot, you get your tubes tied and are cock chopped off! It infuriates me how much time I waste in my everyday life dealing with total brainless fuckwits! Yesterday in Starbucks – Yes shock horror I get coffee from Starbucks – get over it! I don’t believe in all that globalism bullshit anyways, so, there I was waiting for my vanilla latte hoping that the guy behind the counter would remember me from last week and give me free coffee again, - I don’t know what it is but people just keeping giving me shit at the moment. Anyways so I overheard this lollipop-head barbie telling her friend in Starbucks, that she had come to New York City to ‘Find herself’!!!!!!!!!!!!! what the fuck? You don’t ‘find yourself’ in NYC you stupid horse-face bitch!! The whole point of being in NY is so that you don’t have to even think about that kind of thing, I mean, if you want to put it spiritually or some shit, you come to NY, you stay in NY to ‘loose’ yourself if anything!! What has she been doing here? Sitting in Central Park next to the John Lennon memorial and singing strawberry fields forever??? For fucks sake?? So I leaned past her toothpick of a so called friend and said “Honey take my advice, I think you should just fuck off back to the farm you came from and start looking up your own arse because you’re clearly gonna have more luck there, there’s no room on the subway for fuckwits like you!” They both turned around and stared at me for a few seconds, and then the walking anorexia advertisement says to me ‘NO thanks, we’ve just ordered.” I flicked my cigarette ash into her coffee and walked off. What an Idiot. Later on I’m in Macy’s waiting for the alien behind the Chanel counter to go on her break so I can grab so lipstick and I hear this wrinkly old tart telling her equally as wrinkly and hideous friend that her daughter is getting married in a month but she’s not sure if she can go to the wedding because she can’t get into see her plastic surgeon till December and she is NOT going to the wedding unless she can get her eyes lifted. She then asks the girl behind the Dior counter if she had any “rouge.” I called out to her from my perch “Rouge is what hookers wear!”
Stupid people deserve the stupid things that happen to them. Don’t leave your bag open on the counter while you choose your lunch! Don’t get a perm! Don’t go to the movies, sit in the back row and get annoyed if the people around you are having sex. Don’t think that by adding a cherry to my drink you can call it a cocktail and then throw me out of your stupid, hideous 80s décor bar if I throw it in your face. Don’t make faces at “tsk tsk” noises at me if I smoke standing next to your child at the park, Move!! You stupid saggy-tit moron!

Go and watch Ellen live in THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED at Downstage

Watch the talk back for The Little Dog Laughed on You Tube

Great reviews for The Little Dog Laughed

What the reviewers say:

"A great piece of contemporary theatre with real themes, engrossing performers and a pertinent message. Wassenaar's work continues to be some of the most interesting and engaging in Wellington, and the future of Wellington theatre will be bright as long as he is here." Jackson Coe, Salient

"Who wouldn't laugh to see such fun? This biting New York satire of showbiz hypocrisy has inspired Wassenaar and Co to turn on yet another hugely spunky entertainment. Not to be missed." Mary Anne Bourke, Theatreview.com

And what our patrons say:

"It's been a while since I been to any live theatre. I found "The Little Dog Laughed" to be a great way to get back into the theatre scene. It wasn't heavy intense drama but it was light hearted, quirky and fun."

"It was a lot of intelligent fun, pointing out, how life as a Hollywood actor in the closet might be - and it was quite an achievement of director, cast and crew to bring it to live very convincing."

"A beautifully written play that’s both humorous and potent, The dialogue is truly wonderful. Outstanding performance by the cast. Like all productions by William Wassenaar The Little Dog Laughed is a class act !!!!!"

"I really enjoyed the two female characters, they were great!!"


Don't miss this witty and funny play, book now at Downstage.co.nz or phone 801 6946

The Little Dog Laughed starts at Downstage - A note from Director Willem Wassenaar

Diane: And that’s how one wins. By shutting up. You can win. And all you have to do is shut up. Don’t say anything. This is where we are in our lives.

This world is a brothel. And we are all prostitutes; selling ourselves to fit the ideal image of success and happiness.

What is hidden behind the perfect smile of those Hollywood icons we have come to love and hate? They are people at the top of their profession, who have everything, who have achieved greatness… and yet, we love to grab a random tabloid, go to the red carpet pages and put their achievements to the test. Fold the page over those cheesy grins and the eyes start to reveal a whole other story.

Compromise ─ I hate that word, as a human being and as an artist. Has our idea of happiness superseded our primal need to love and be loved?

The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane presents the façade, the make believe world that we all consume, chew over and spit out in fits and starts. But would we have it any other way? In this dark comedy of manners, we watch in horror as four people make their individual choices to be happy. The truth has consequences; but the lies are a living hell. So, do we shut up in order to win?

My thanks to the amazing, brave team of The Little Dog Laughed and Downstage Theatre, and a special mention for my long term collaborator Daniel Williams. This is our last project before this beautiful man heads out into the world to go on outrageous adventures. Let’s hope for the theatre in New Zealand that he comes back.

I also wish to thank… (cut to music)

Willem Wassenaar
Director The Little Dog Laughed