Multi-talented Arinzé Kene has established an illustrious career in London as an actor and playwright, winning awards and accolades for both.
Now the Green Door Theatre Company, in association with the Bakehouse Theatre Company, present the Australian Premiere of his play Good Dog, a monologue delivered by award-winning actor Justin Amankwah.
Amankwah assumes the role of the 13-year-old omniscient narrator who looks down from the balcony of the flat where he lives in Tottenham in north London and describes the lives of his neighbours with good humour and compassion.
He sees Trevor Senior teaching his son how to play cricket in the hope that this will distract him from getting into trouble. He watches as “Gandhi,” the shopkeeper, takes on the care of a stray cat which becomes his only friend. He tells us about the boys who are smoking on the street corner and the girls who shoplift, whom he names the “what-what” girls because “what” is their main form of expression.
Although these stories are told with such insight and acceptance, they actually represent a simmering prelude to the London riots of 2011, when poverty and deprivation fuel the explosive events that arise out of the prevailing social conditions in Tottenham.
The boy’s narration has been likened to an inner-city version of Dylan Thomas’ Milkwood, but from a very different perspective.
Amankwah is directed by Rachel Chant in the Green Door Theatre Company’s fifth and final show for the year.
Until Nov 16. Kings Cross Theatre, 242-248 William St, Kings Cross. $25-$42+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.kingsxtheatre.com
