Writer: Philip Jones
Director: Karan Desai
Philip Jones’ Dog Hair is a three-handed drama exploring themes of grief and class divides through the relationships between the characters of Son, Mam and Mike.
The story begins with Son (Philip Jones), returning to his hometown – in unspecified rural Wales – where Mam (Sarah Rickman) still lives and from which he clearly feels estranged. We soon learn that the reason for Son’s return is to attend the funeral of his grandmother, and the play takes us through the early stages of familial grief and its impact on Son and Mam’s relationship. Sparks fly between Son and Mike (Raphael von Blumenthal), who is Mam’s partner and a clear outsider to the town.
Fundamentally, Dog Hair is about place, so it seems a missed opportunity that so many of the details are left out – we never learn where exactly the hometown is, where Son has been during the time he’s spent away, where Mike is from or what the details of his ‘outsider’ status are apart from being clearly coded as from a different class. Unfortunately, the characters do feel very general at best, and stereotyped at worst. But this may also be intentional, so as not to restrict the story to a particular setting or specific dynamic.
Jones, Rickman and Raphael are a well-matched ensemble and clearly committed performers, though the scenes that work best are those where it’s a conversation between just two of the characters – Mam and Son, or Son and Mike. Where the writing gets a little less convincing is in the monologue sections, though this provides a nice contrast to the rest of the piece.
Dog Hair is clearly written and performed from a place of lived experience, which ultimately shines through to create something with ambition and integrity.
Runs until 5 February 2023
