The current Double Bill at Werrington’s intimate Henry Lawson Theatre, Rhonda Hancock’s ‘Catnips’ and Christopher Johnson’s ‘The Dog Logs’ is an animal lovers delight and a crowd pleaser.
The plays are celebrations of the colourful and distinctive personalities of our four legged friends. The actors, under Pam Pickard’s warm direction, played their feline and canine roles with uninhibited, high spirits.
In Hancock’s prelude cat show, Sascha Hall, Leanne Caton and Liz Stramandinoli played three furry creatures, (Missy, Bella and Muffin), and conveyed much of the mixture of qualities that cats possess; their sweetness and charm, their moodiness, petulance and languidness.
The main event, ‘The Dog Logs’ featured a cast of seven, many playing multiple roles, and had plenty of good moments. The show was dominated by two turbo charged, charismatic performances by Daniel Elvidge and Arpad Horvath.
Daniel Elvidge ran riot as the lovable, manic Jack, the Jack Russell Terrier, bopping and weaving everywhere, determined to get everyone’s attention. Elvidge also played Sparky the Kelpie, explaining his strategy in rounding up sheep, and Munga, the Dingo, who appeared out of nowhere and said, ‘I did it’, a comic throwaway reference to Australia’s famous Azaria Chamberlain case.
Arpad Horvath leapt back and forth across the stage as the over eager, quirky greyhound, Savoir Faire. Savoir Faire’s whole world revolved around how he could get his mouth around that ever-elusive rabbit.
Graham Fairbrother was a hit with the audience with his comic turn in duel roles as the style king and queen, Alfred and Talullah Afghan.
Daniel Whalen’s portrayal of Borys the Rottweiler pulled a few heartstrings with Borys realising that his innate aggressive nature would inevitably bring him undone.
Sheep chasing kelpies, rabbit chasing greyhounds, loyal labradors…I was waiting for my favourite dog story to come up…about the life saving German Shepherd that used to warn his owner when he saw people contemplating suicide off the Gap at Watsons Bay but alas no. Perhaps that’s one for the next set of dog stories.
Pam Prickard’s production of the double bill Christopher Johnson’s ‘The Dogs Logs’ and Rhonda Hancock’s ‘Catnips’ plays the Henry Lawson theatre, based within the Henry Lawson Club, Henry Lawson Avenue, Werrington until Friday 13th August, 2010.