NEWSFLASH 3/11/2020
IN light of Lockdown 2 starting on Thursday, this week’s semi-staged readings of Alison Carr’s Dogwalker are moving from Friday and Saturday to tomorrow (4/11/2020) at 6.30pm and 8.30pm. “And we have some availability!,” says the SJT. “Your last chance to get your live theatre fix for a little while… http://sjt.uk.com/event/1066/dogwalker
QUESTION. Whose testing play, The Last Quiz Night On Earth, should have been performed at a sold-out Stephen Joseph Theatre in March before you know what struck?
Answer: Alison Carr, award-winning playwright from Bishop Auckland. Good news for Alison comes next week with the November 6 and 7 semi-staged debut reading of her new play, Dogwalker, at the reopened Scarborough theatre.
Performed by Deborah Tracey in The Round at 7.30pm each night, Carr’s dark comedy forms part of a season of pared-back work that permits the SJT to operate at social distance.
In Dogwalker, Helen’s main responsibility since losing her job has been to pick up her dog Harvey’s poo. When she finds a dead body in the neighbourhood dog park, suddenly everyone is paying attention to her. At least for a little while.
Now she has had a taste of the limelight, however, Helen refuses to fade into the shadows without a fight.
Dogwalker’s dark hue of humour should appeal to devotees of Fleabag, I May Destroy You and I Hate Suzie, as well as those who encountered Carr’s play Caterpillar, either in the SJT’s 2017 season of play readings or a full visiting production there in 2018.
Dogwalker was submitted through the SJT Open Script Submissions window and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting. Now, the SJT is developing it for a potential run at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Deborah Tracey has pursued a wide and varied career in television, film and on stage, last year performing in artistic director Robert Hastie’s production of Richard Hawley and former York student Chris Bush’s Standing At The Sky’s Edge at the Crucible, Sheffield.
Dogwalker is directed by the SJT’s Carne Trust associate director Chelsey Gillard. Tickets cost £10 on 01723 370541 or at sjt.uk.com.
Oh, and if you had to miss Box Of Tricks Theatre Company’s production of The Last Quiz Night On Earth in March, Carr’s immersive, innovative pre-apocalyptic comedy was aimed at theatre and pub quiz enthusiasts alike, with its promise of “a very different experience of live performance”.
