The Dogs

I found this show to be entirely rich in depth, emotion and meaty.

This is the type of show while listening to a riveting plot of mystery, as well as about young Noa at the beginning of her career, gave me a lot to think about and talk about in the car ride home. The symbolism of masculinity with dogs, hunger with sexual/gendered violence, and diseases with the experience of living as a woman/gender minority was genius to me.

I'm very happy to have seen this moving piece for it's design as well. The sound design was immersive yet simple. Hauntingly beautiful.

If there was ever a chance to sit down and read this script, I would take it in a heartbeat.

Thank you Anya for a night of theatre that validated so many of my feelings in such a physical and honest way. It didn't soften the message for the comfort of others.

Unfortunately, The Dogs goes against the grain of storytelling and, as a result, its weak writing pays the ultimate price: boredom. Although Anya Reynolds-Swannie's performance is expressive, I felt absolutely disengaged from the nonsensical, tedious story that was failing, time and again, to unfold in front of me.

It's a pity is this show has the potential of something interesting, but it keeps falling short when it fails to establish simply what it wants to do. Chief among the writing sins here is private symbolism—in this regard, there's a world of difference between gradually and carefully unfolding the plot for the audience and keeping them in the dark to the last; ultimately, only the writer knows what the heck all this adds up to, and this outsourcing of rhetorical labour, which the show attempts to throw over the fence to the audience, simply doesn't cut it. There was nothing here for me to be invested in.

Next comes the slew of issues caused by the show's committment to telling us everything while mostly showing us nothing. If we weren't kept in the dark by the rambling, disjointed plot, this could perhaps work. However, I simply don't see how it's possible to neither flesh out what the audience is seeing nor actually push the physical elements of the narration further, into the realm of showing. From the Stanislavskian perspective, since I was already uninterested in the plot, I was even further out to sea in terms of the onslaught of words that seemed to barely connect to what the protagonist was doing. From the Brechtian perspective, I was more aware than aware that I was in a theatre, watching a meandering play that was taking forever and going nowhere.

What was the purpose of the torn shoulder? The wound? The stringing along of the audience by means of foreshadowing that ultimately adds up to nothing? The Chekhov's gun that never fires? I'm all for experimental theatre and breaking established conventions, but I felt rather dispirited while watching this performance—full of sound of fury, signifying nothing. Before the fans come for me, do kindly inquire with yourselves: Did you actually enjoy the show because it spoke to you? (If so, then, for the love of God, do tell what it had to say.) Or, did you simply feel a little enthralled because an actor let out passionately a sequence of words that you did not fully understand?

What a roller coaster! Ants on a Leash knows how to tell a scary story! From the atmosphere to pacing to the ominous sound design, everything in The Dogs serves to ratchet up the tension. Even the brief flickers of laugh-out-loud humour provide just enough relief that Anya and team can crank up the dread even further. The prose is incredibly strong and sophisticated, and the performance is precisely calbirated to first charm and then unnerve. It's a masterclass on what can be achieved with simple elements running at top capacity. Plus, beneath all of the fearsome plotting, the raw emotional core of the piece feels urgent and meaningful.

I was engaged the whole way through. The script and all the words were absolutely beautifully written. Sound design was wonderful, as well. This show has a lot of potential, and I look forward to see where it goes!

Wonderful performance and interesting piece.

A story about a journalist chasing a story, and then it gets much darker and stranger. She leans into the character, and you see her unravel. Unsettling, with excellent production. I enjoyed it a lot! Thank you.

A genuinely phenomenal show. Incredibly engaging start to finish, wonderfully acted and written. The lighting and sound design were also outstanding.

I was impressed by the quality of this production. The story, the acting, and the sound production were all so well done. The actor really draws you into the story, creating the mystery, building suspense and doesn’t let go until the final startling conclusion. As a fellow audience member said: this young woman has a very bright future ahead of her. Highly recommend this unique show!