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That’s entertainment
by Frances Edmond
Frances Edmond's review of Silo Theatre's __The Little Dog Laughed__.
Show business – the business of celebrity – is the subject of Douglas Carter Beane’s wickedly funny deconstruction of the movie business. Diane (Alison Bruce), elegant and as sharp as a cut-throat razor, is determined to achieve stardom for her client, actor Mitchell Green (Paolo Rotondo). Poor Mitch is confused about his sexuality and his public credibility is threatened when he becomes involved with a rent boy, Alex (Charlie McDermott). To complicate matters – and round out the foursome – Alex has a girlfriend, Ellen (Sophie Henderson). And in true movie style, the question becomes, will he get the girl … or the boy … or both … or neither? And at what price?
It’s a clever play about deception. Using complex emotional layering, it examines the large and small lies people tell to justify and protect themselves and, of course, get what they want … or find happiness. Beneath a dazzling surface, it juxtaposes personal undercurrents and the professional masks that those desperate to succeed in the public eye present to the world. And it exposes the consequences for those, like Alex, who are on the outside: it’s tough, tender, courageous, hilarious.
Nothing is sacred. It’s peppered with delicious one-liners that cut through stereotypes about homosexuality, that reveal the ruthlessness and insincerity of the movie business, that unpick the insecurity and egotism of those in show business. Along the way, it takes a swipe at the self-indulgence of writers, as well as acknowledging a debt to memorable lines from past movies: “I’m unprepared for life as we know it!” says Ellen.
Structurally eclectic, it weaves dialogue with interior monologue, vignettes with sustained scenes – and Diane runs the show, manipulating those on stage as well as directing the audience. Beane is a master at setting up a powerful moment and then comedically undercutting it. As Mitch and Alex admit and begin to explore their desire for each other, in sweeps Diane. Unfazed, and ignoring their naked vulnerability, she talks business: in this world, it is more important than life.
It’s a glittering production by Shane Bosher and Peter Elliot, scaling heights and plumbing depths with breathtaking speed and accuracy. There are excellent performances, too. Rotondo’s Mitch is compellingly confused – his second act “actor’s tantrum” a tour de force; McDermott’s Alex is affectingly innocent despite his profession; Bruce’s Diane is a glamorous, cynically knowing ice queen.
It’s a great night out and the audience gave the production a well-deserved standing ovation.
THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED, by Douglas Carter Beane, directed by Shane Bosher with Peter Elliot, Silo Theatre at Herald Theatre, Auckland, until November 15.
A different production of The Little Dog Laughed is at Downstage Theatre in Wellington from November 7.
