Mum’s promised him that bike so even when school or home life bites, he knows to keep his chin up, his head down and his shirt clean. Because in the end, everyone who’s good gets what they deserve. Don’t they? Read more …
good dog - set during the early noughties - tells the story of growing up in a multi-cultural community, and the everyday injustices that drive people to take back control.
Kene’s play reveals a timely microcosm of a forgotten community, where sometimes being good is hard.
The story powers on magnificently, to an ending that allows for more than a glimmer of hope.
A compelling, contemporary piece which reminds us that being good is the way, but that doesn’t mean everything will work out okay.
Good Dog ends with an affirmation of accepting conflict and learning how best to fight back against the ‘bigger dogs’ of this world, even if it means being ‘put down’ in the process. The metaphor is overly wordy, unclear, and could do with some further consideration of just what it is trying to say. In that manner, it suits the larger production perfectly.
Arinzé Kene’s good dog offers a poignant look at one young person's struggles against the forces of society.
Kwaku Mills is a revelation as a boy growing up amid poverty in this touring revival of Arinzé Kene’s crackling, compelling monologue.
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh from Thursday February 14, 2019, until Saturday February 16, 2019. More info: www.traverse.co.uk
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