good dog at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough
Tuesday 12 February at 7.45pm and Wednesday 13 February at 1.30pm
Tiata Fahodzi and Tara Finney Productions in association with Watford Palace Theatre present Arinzé Kene’s good dog at the Stephen Joseph Theatre
Arinzé Kene’s one-man show good dog, a true epic, retelling the stories of multiple characters, families and years, comes to Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre next month as part of a national tour.
Kwaku Mills (End of Eddy, UK tour; Urban Myths: The Trial of Joan Collins, Sky Atlantic) has been cast in this exciting revival directed by tiata fahodzi’s Artistic Director Natalie Ibu, which visits the SJT on 12 and 13 February.
Mum’s promised him that bike so even when school or homelife bites, he knows to keep his chin up, his head down and his shirt clean. No harsh word, no sudden push to the ground will distract him from growing up to be a good man. Because in the end, everyone who’s good gets what they deserve. Don’t they?
Set during the early noughties, good dog tells the story of growing up in a multi-cultural community, and the everyday injustices that drive people to take back control. When prejudiced voices are amplified, the arts must remind us of the humans obscured within the propaganda storm.
The inspiration for Kene’s delicately observed and fearlessly-told play stemmed from a desire to imagine what drove his friends and community to riot in the summer of 2011 – in London and beyond – but it has become a chronicle of a community struggling to survive and fighting back.
Kwaku Mills says: “I’m beyond excited to be joining good dog. I’ve admired Arinze‘s work for a while now, so it’s a real honour to get to perform his words. It’s such a vibrant, intelligent, urgent play, and a gift of a character to work on. It’ll be my first time performing at all the venues on the tour so I look forward to getting the show on the road along with Natalie and the rest of the team!”
On reviving good dog for 2019, Natalie Ibu says: “It’s a real thrill to be able to bring
back Arinzé’s play – an astonishing love letter to the people and places that leave their mark on your life – and tour it to more places, meeting more people. In the wake of the Brexit vote, it was a troubling thesis about what happens when you are unseen and unheard, and this only gets louder as time goes on. At tiata fahodzi we pride ourselves in seeking out stories that see those who sit outside the singular narrative. We refuse to oversimplify the African diaspora and, instead, relish
the complexity. We want to multiply the narratives – about ourselves and each other – and debate the mixed experience of Britain today and tomorrow.”
The 2019 national tour of good dog is supported by Arts Council England.
Arinzé Kene was named Most Promising Playwright at the Off-West End Theatre Awards for Estate Walls in 2011, which was also nominated for Best New Play. He was named as a Screen International UK Star of Tomorrow in 2013 and was invited to take part in the Channel 4 Screenwriting Course in 2012. He was a member of the Young Writers’ Programme and Writers’ Super Group at the Royal Court Theatre and has been artist on attachment at the Lyric Hammersmith and the National Theatre Studio. Other writing credits include Misty (BushTheatre & West End, 2018); God’s†Property (Soho Theatre, 2013); Little Baby Jesus (Oval House
Theatre, 2011); Wild Child (Royal Court, 2011).
Kwaku Mills has recently graduated from the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts. Theatre credits include: Eddy in End of Eddy (UK Tour). Television credits include: Simon in Urban Myths: The Trial of Joan Collins (Sky Atlantic).
Natalie Ibu is the Artistic Director of tiata fahodzi. For the company, directing credits
include good dog, bricks and pieces, I know all the secrets in my world, tiata delights 15, here and mango. Other directing credits include readings and productions at the Riverside Studios, Young Vic, Lyric, Southwark Playhouse, Southbank Centre, The Old Vic Tunnels, Theatre503, The Gate, Latitude, HighTide, BAC, Oran Mor, Traverse, Royal Court, ATC at the Young Vic, OVNV at The Old Vic, Waterloo East and The Vineyard Theatre in New York, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Citizens’, The
Arches, Contact and Nottingham Playhouse.
tiata fahodzi creates inclusive theatre that illuminates the mixed and multiple experience of the African diaspora in Britain today. Their work starts with the contemporary British African experience but reaches beyond to ask everyone, what does it mean to be a contemporary Briton, now? Past productions includemixed brain by ITV Benidorm’s Nathan Bryon, bricks and pieces by award-winning Charlene James, i know all the secrets in my world by Natalie Ibu andbelong by
award-winning Bola Agbaje who cites tiata fahodzi’s production of the gods are not to blame in 2005 as her inspiration to write.
good dog can be seen in the Round/McCarthy at the SJT at 7.45pm on Tuesday 12 February and at 1.30pm on Wednesday 13 February. Tickets are priced from £10, and can be booked at the box office on 01723 370541 or via the website:www.sjt.uk.com