Feature Review -
Victoria Claringbold
Douglas Carter Beane’s Tony nominated play ‘The Little Dog Laughed’ comes to the West End with a bang this January. It opens with the acid tongued agent Diane (Tamsin Greig) waxing lyrical about Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Mickey Rooney’s memorably offensive performance as Audrey Hepburn’s neighbour. Greig has a fantastic range that enables her to be funny on so many different levels, her character reminds us we are at the theatre with referential statements yet she is still a part of the central action providing the outsider’s take on the situations. Her description of studio executives ordering salad was a high point of the first act.
The play is a satirical look at the price of fame. It is a smart, sharp, fast paced frolic through New York behind closed doors. Mitchell Green (a chiselled Rupert Friend) is an actor on the verge of stardom trying to come to terms with his homosexuality. This is complicated by the arrival of rent boy Alex (Harry Lloyd) who has his own on/off girlfriend ‘party girl’ Ellen (Bond girl Gemma Arterton).
Jamie Lloyd directs with panache and with very little plot manages to make the piece entertaining and exhilarating in even measure. Lloyd plays up the farcical elements to the right degree to make it work as a drama and comedy.
Describing Mitchell’s award acceptance speech Diane recalls him say to her, “Thanks for teaching me how to dream”. This accentuates the narcissistic attributes of Mitchell who is in need of love which he believes he can find through fame and flattery. This is also underlined by the conversation he and Diane have with “He, meaning Him”, the playwright of the play they want to make a film of.
Rupert Friend is confident yet fragile in his portrayal of the desperate star. Tamsin Greig provides the many comedic highlights as the fiendishly unctuous Diane assessing and addressing the others dressed in vertiginous heels and designer clothes that cling to her toned frame.
Gemma Arterton brings a nervous vulnerability to the relatively small role of Ellen, who happens to fall for the friend who will never give her his heart. She emerges as an acquisitive trickster looking for a way out of her own misery.
All the characters seem to be searching for acceptance and love but some are looking in the wrong places. Diane’s character is the most grounded, knowing yet the most volatile. She erupts when she discovers Mitchell will possibly out himself. Yet she is calm and manipulative to get what she wants, as when she questions Alex about where he is going she says, “When people give three answers to a question they are usually lying”.
My only criticism would be that we aren’t privy to why Mitchell is so hungry for fame but this question also adds to his mystery and doesn’t diminish his intrigue.
The bare white set and small apron allowed breathing space and no distraction from the performance. Two large hanging lamps with intricate shades cast spider-like shadows across the back wall of the stage perhaps symbolic of the parasitic world the protagonists are immersed in.
The conclusion was somewhat predictable but that didn’t detract from the cracking script which provided acerbic one-liners, as well as emotive monologues which captivated the preview audience I sat in.
The play doesn’t date itself with too many pop culture references. It is however current in its themes as today’s society is obsessed with celebrity so it should draw a huge crowd. The two hours flew by due to the high standard of acting and discernible skill of the playwright.
Victoria Claringbold
Garrick Theatre
Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0HH
Running Time: Two hours and 15 minutes with one interval
Director: Jamie Lloyd
Age Recommendation: Suitable for ages 14+
Bookings being taken until: 10 April 2010
The Little Dog Laughed follows the adventures of Mitchell Green, a movie star who could make it big if it weren't for one small problem his hard-driving agent, Diane, can't seem to keep him in the closet.
The hilarity of Hollywood hypocrisy and what self-deception does to people in the shallow and superficial world of show business is satirized in THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED.
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