Dog Shit: Soaring comedy about theatre workers with low expectations
Bellaray Bertrand-Webb’s excellent debut stands out on the Fringe.
The New Theatre, Dublin Fringe Festival
★★★★★
For all the promise of great art, glory and making a difference, the careers of today’s young theatre workers might be no more satisfying than those of generations that came before. Not that we know for sure; over a decade ago, across the Irish Sea, the thespians of Henry Lewis’s West End breakout The Play That Goes Wrong were more preoccupied with an accident-prone workplace. Over 230 years ago, Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s comedy The Critic saw a team rehearse a clichéd war drama for a crass commercial theatre district – at least the playwright seemed likely to get paid well.
If anything, the creatives in Bellaray Bertrand-Webb’s excellent debut play Dog Shit – zippily directed by Ursula McGinn – have much lower expectations. When asked why she works in theatre if not for the money, Raven – a razor-sharp Aoife Morgan Jones, as a director mostly working as a drama facilitator – looks to her peer. “Because we love it,” she says, glancing seriously at her colleague, as if seeking confirmation.