Dogstar play review finds script wobbles between ghost story and mutiny drama
Daisy Hall's new play Dogstar features survivors trapped in arctic ice on a whaling ship at the Almeida Theatre.
Characters face scurvy and mystery
Justin Edwards portrays Babben in the production, a veteran who has spent nearly 40 years whaling. Adam Rojko Vega plays Gorey, a mischief-maker who walks around with a gun. Abdul Jalloh portrays Sam, the youngest member who seems immobilised by anxiety. On the Dogstar, these men mourned their lost comrades while each feels responsibility differently. Talk of bad luck arises because Sam has killed a baby whale during their ordeal.
Production struggles to move forward
Although the tone aims for darkness, Lucy Morrison guides the men who occasionally engage in humorous bickering and chatter. The trio's conversation makes goldfish-like circles of repetition as they are forced into a state of waiting. Such stillness infuses the comedy and bickering on stage with an air of Beckettian absurdity. The script wobbles between ghost story and mutiny drama without achieving chilling effects for either genre.
Metaphors clash with plot issues
An oil barrel sits on stage mentioned accusingly alongside repeated talk of overwhaling regarding planetary resource depletion. A key part of the plot involves a recurring vision of the shipowner Michael Carmichael whose name doubles up as a joke. Sam mysteriously ends up with Carmichael's watch and dressing-gown which he dons while questioning if he is becoming him. A plot-turn at the end is too enigmatic for the production to be powered enough for the turbulence it seeks to explore.
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