Dogs On The Metro
Newcastle Live Theatre
Until Saturday 17 May 2025
Written by Emilie Robson
Directed by Maria Crocker.
The winner of the North East Playwriting Award has arrived at Live Theatre for a couple of weeks. It may by a local play about a couple of local teenagers who ride the local transport network and talk in the local dialect but show has much broader impact with its themes.
They said "Jen and Dean take a ride on the Metro. It’s something that they’ve always done. But far from an ordinary journey this one takes them back and forth through days, months and years. As the carriage hurtles on, they navigate their way through the tunnels of memory and perception to come to terms with a pivotal event that changed everything."
The set up for the show appears, initially to be straightforward enough. Sarah Balfour and Dean Logan appear as Jen and Dean. The go up and down the Metro from their native South Shields for days out. Much seems to centre around watching people coming and going as they sit in the Greggs at the airport. Watching people, watching their community. It has to be said though that the action tends to be on the Metro itself and they tend to discuss themselves, their friends and the dogs that have popped off at the last stop.
Jen, in particular, frequently breaks the fourth wall to discuss live with the audience but both teens are, at times, unreliable narrators. They'll say something happened or was said and the other one will correct them by saying "but you did not do that/say that, did you?" Having said that - they did talk like kids do. At times embellishing the positive truth and trying to underplay the embarrassing stuff. The two of them like to go to parties, via the Metro. They are excited about prom and it is clear that they get on.
Amy Watts design replicates the interior of one of our original metro cars. Matthew Tuckey's sound design often sounds like an underground train until a change of scene when Drummond Orr's lighting gives an impression of the rapid movement of the train from the lights above as the cast change an aspect of their appearance before the next scene. Despite a number of such changes, the pace and momentum of the show is maintained and the 70 minutes passes quite rapidly - which means the audience is quickly propelled into the nub of the matter.
The issue of consent between teens raises its ugly head. In an era when lads can find themselves watching online content that gives them a false impression that certain behaviours are acceptable. This the play becomes a vehicle to discuss the parameters of acceptable consensual behaviour. Certainly the show is thought provoking and one does worry about the drip of toxic material that is fed to the youth of today.
Live Theatre has always been brave with the content that it wants to reflect onto the audience. We are lucky to have this powerhouse of new writing on our doorstep. They also nurture young actors and Dean Logan is a fine product of their youth system. It is wonderful to see two promising local actors appearing using their natural accents too. No dialect coach was needed here!
This is a well paced show with a pair of canny actors who make the characters relatable. The show would not work if we did not care about Jen and Dean (and too often young people are seen as a problem rather than the future.) The topic is a tough one but it needs to discussed. Emilie Robson's play is timely, challenging and engaging. I'm glad I had the opportunity to see it.
Review: Stephen Oliver
Photos: Von Fox Promotions.
Tickets:
Dogs On The Metro plays at Live Theatre from Thursday 1 to Saturday 17 May 2025 with tickets priced from £11 to £26. For more information and to book tickets go to www.live.org.uk
Approx. 70 mins no interval
Age recommendation 14+
Please be aware that this play contains scenes involving consent and sexual violence.
BSL performance (13 May)
Audio Described Captioned performance (14 May)
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