
good dog
spring 2017, national tourAbout
tiata fahodzi in association with Watford Palace Theatre presents good dog by Arinzé Kene.
It’s in the window of Sam’s, behind the rusty display. Two wheels, shiny body, handlebars ready to be gripped. Mum’s promised him that bike so even when school or homelife bites, he knows to keep his chin up, his head down and his shirt clean. No harsh word, no sudden push to the ground will distract him from growing up to be a good man.
All around him neighbours are waiting. Gandhi’s waiting for the day when customers will be kind; Mrs Blackwood is waiting for him to stop doing someone else’s dirty laundry and notice her; Old Man Boateng’s waiting to get bored of the drink and Trevor Senior’s waiting for when those kids will let him and his son play in peace. For now, though, they tip their hats and look the other way – because in the end, everyone who’s good gets what they deserve. Don’t they?
Set during the early noughties, good dog chronicles growing up in a multi-cultural community, and the everyday injustices that drive people to take back control. Because even the most patient among us can’t wait forever.
Delicately observed and fearlessly told by the star of Crazyhead, Eastenders and Youngers, Arinzé Kene returns to writing for theatre for the first time since God’s Property in 2013. Writing credits include Misty (Bush Theatre); God’s Property (Soho Theatre); Little Baby Jesus and Estate Walls, (Oval House Theatre) and screen feature films Seekers and Cure; contributor on television series Youngers and Eastenders/E20.
tour
14 – 18 feb / Watford Palace Theatre at West Herts College
21 feb / Queens Hall Arts Centre, Hexham
22 – 23 feb / The Lowry, Salford Quays
24 feb / Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
25 feb / Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
1 mar / Live Theatre, Newcastle
4 mar / mac birmingham
6 – 11 mar / The Albany, London
(c) Dan Patrick Hipkin (TEAfilms)
(c) Wasi Daniju
Wasi also shot our rehearsal images
a special thanks to Abigail Graham, Archie Graham, Arti Goyate, Ben Spiller, Bhavini Goyate, Calum Callaghan, Cyril Nri, Danny Sapani, David Carr, Desara Bosnja, Edward Kemp, Emilyne Mondo, The Garrick Charitable Trust, George Balogun, Jaekwan Hunte, James Grieve, Janet Etuk, Janice Acquah, Jemima Levick, Jocelyn Jee Esien, Joseph Adelakun, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Lucian Msamati, Martin Cordiner, Matilda Ibini, Michael Storey, Nilesh, Orhan Nas, Rachel D’Arcy, Roshni Goyate, Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme (RTYDS), Sabrina Mahfouz, Sharon Kanolik, Shola Adewusi, Steven Downs, Stewart Melton, Vanessa Barbirye, Yomi Adegoke and 7 anonymous donors.
The good dog trailer was highly commended by Theatrefullstop’s Theatre and Technology Awards 2017.
Cast & Creative
ajjaz awad-ibrahim
assistant director
ajjaz awad-ibrahim
assistant director

Having attended both The Brit School and a foundation course at RADA, ajjaz awad-ibrahim graduated with a BA in Acting from The Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, where she became the first student to win The Lawrence Olivier Award Bursary (2010). Since leaving education, she has continued to develop herself as a theatre-maker as well as an actor. In 2014 she debuted her children’s theatre show Bimwili and The Zimwi at The Little Angel Theatre and assisted Melly Still for the Introduction to Directing course at The Young Vic. She then went on to write a short piece Coffee? Cake?, which was performed at The Feminist Library to mark it’s 40th Anniversary, before being the Production Runner for i know all the secrets of my world with tiata fahodzi. In 2016 she returned to The Young Vic to be Assistant Director on Parallel:Yerma.
amelia jane hankin
designer
amelia jane hankin
designer

amelia jane hankin trained at RADA and The RSC.
Recent design credits include Torch (Edinburgh Festival); We Are You (Young Vic); bricks and pieces (tiata fahodzi and RADA/Latitude); The Neighbourhood Project (Bush Theatre); This is Art (Shakespeare in Shoreditch); The Tiger’s Bones (Polka and West Yorkshire Playhouse); The Little Prince, The Red Helicopter (Arcola); Pinter Triple Bill, The Crucible, Dealer’s Choice (Guildhall); Rudolf, Night Before Christmas (West Yorkshire Playhouse); She Called Me Mother (Tara Arts, national tour); Fake It ’Til You Make It (Traverse Theatre and Soho Theatre, national tour); Horniman’s Choice(Finborough Theatre); Mother Courage and her Children (Drama Centre); The Itinerant Music Hall (Lyric Hammersmith and Watford Palace Theatre); The Box (Theatre Delicatessen); You Once Said Yes (The Roundhouse, The Lowry, Nuffield Theatre, Perth International Festival, Australia); The Many Whoops of Whoops Town (Lyric Hammersmith) and 64 Squares with Rhum and Clay (Edinburgh Festival, national tour).
As Assistant Designer, theatre includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream RSC 2016, Death of a Salesman and The Christmas Truce (Royal Shakespeare Company 2015).
Amelia’s designs for The Itinerant Music Hall were exhibited at the V&A Museum as part of the MAKE/BELIEVE UK Design for Performance exhibition.
anton cross
boy
anton cross
boy

Since graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) in 2015, anton cross made his theatrical debut as Frank in The world premiere of Arthur Millers No Villain (Old Red Lion Theatre). Anton was most recently a part of the Storyhouse company for their 2016 Summer repertory season where he led as Barney in a brand new stage adaptation of Stig of the Dump (written by Jessica Swale) as well as playing Le Beau & William in As You Like It and an Outlaw in Two Gentlemen of Verona. Other theatre credits include: Stoney Fruit (Fine Mess Theatre); Elizabeth (High Tide Theatre Festival); John Blanke in She Stoops to Conquer; Young Marlow in She Stoops to Conquer; Worcester in Henry IV Part I (LAMDA).
arinzé kene
writer
arinzé kene
writer

arinzé kene was named Most Promising Playwright at the Off West End Theatre Awards for Estate Walls in 2011, which was also nominated for Best New Play. arinzé was named as a Screen International UK Star of Tomorrow in 2013 and was invited to take part in the Channel 4 Screenwriting Course in 2012. arinzé was a member of the Young Writers’ Programme and Writers’ Super Group at the Royal Court Theatre and has been artist on attachment at the Lyric Hammersmith and the National Theatre Studio. Other writing credits include God’s Property (Soho Theatre, 2013), Little Baby Jesus (Oval House Theatre, 2011), Wild Child (Royal Court, 2011).
bhavini goyate
assistant producer
bhavini goyate
assistant producer

bhavini goyate joined tiata fahodzi from Paines Plough where she was a trainee administrator. She worked as a Production Assistant at the Almeida Theatre. She is a member of London’s samba and carnival community and takes part in London’s annual Notting Hill Carnival.
chloé nelkin consulting
press agency
chloé nelkin consulting
press agency

chloé nelkin consulting was founded in 2010 and specialises in PR, marketing events and consultancy with a dedicated focus on theatre, visual arts and opera. With a passion for the arts and communicating the importance of culture to today’s society, the company handles multiple sell-out productions of all sizes across all genres of theatre. Some recent theatre work includes: Land of Our Fathers (English Tour and Found111), Firebird (Trafalgar Studios), Tonight I’m Gonna Be The New Me (Edinburgh, Soho Theatre and UK Tour), Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (Edinburgh and UK Tour), My Mother Said I Never Should (St. James Theatre), BU21 (Theatre503) and No Villain (Old Red Lion).
danielle baker
audience development associate
danielle baker
audience development associate

helen skiera
composer and sound designer
helen skiera
composer and sound designer

helen skiera is currently part of the operating sound team for The Encounter (Complicite) touring UK and Europe. Previous work for tiata fahodzi includes The Legend of Hamba and The Epic Adventure of Nhamo The Manyika Warrior and his Sexy Wife Chipo.
Recent work as sound designer and composer: The Magna Carta Plays (Salisbury Playhouse); Harajuku Girls (Finborough Theatre), The Dog, The Night, and The Knife, Pandora’s Box, Sister Of, Miss Julie (Arcola); The Boy Who Climbed Out of His Face (Shunt); The Last Words You’ll Hear (Almeida at Latitude); Adler and Gibb (Royal Court Theatre, as Associate); I’d Rather Goya Robbed Me of My Sleep Than Some Other Arsehole (The Gate Theatre, as Associate); Advice for the Young at Heart (Theatre Centre, tour); The Centre, (Islington Community Theatre); The Three Sisters, The Seagull, The Laramie Project (Guildhall School of Music and Drama); Snow White, US/UK Exchange, (Old Vic New Voices); Meat (Bush), Once In A Lifetime, The Eighth Continent, An Absolute Turkey (E15), Colors, The Criminals, House of Bones, Medea, (Drama Centre); Concrete Jungle (Riverside Studios); Brightest and Best (WeWereHere); The Riot Act, Beautiful Blows (Southbank Centre).
As operator for the Royal Court, Young Vic, RSC and West End: King Charles III, Chimerica, Jersusalem, Clybourne Park, Enron, Posh, Feast. Helen has composed and performed music for websites and cabaret/comedy ensembles; and performed on television for Right Said Fred‘s live band.
makin projects
tour booker
makin projects
tour booker

makin projects was established Mark & Penny Makin in 2005 to work with outstanding theatre, dance and comedy companies of all scales who produce high quality, accessible, entertaining and stimulating work. They handle the national and international tour booking for various companies, along with co-producing several new touring productions each season and acting as agents for a number of our comedy clients.
Mark and Penny are the founders and co-directors of The Hertford Comedy Festival (June), Cheltenham Spa Comedy Festival (September), Leamington Spa Comedy Festival (October), and book the comedy line ups for a number of UK festivals including The Wychwood Music Festival and BLOODSTOCK, as well as booking for regular comedy clubs. Mark is also touring associate at house and has worked on this ground breaking arts initiative for over four years. house supports venues by improving the range, quality and scale of theatre presented across South East and Eastern England, and exists to build the audience for contemporary theatre across the region.
http://www.makinprojects.co.uk/
nadine rennie
casting director
nadine rennie
casting director

naomi buchanan brooks
stage manager
naomi buchanan brooks
stage manager

naomi buchanan brooks studied Drama and Theatre studies at Royal Holloway University and has worked in Stage Management for the past 9 years. Recent credits as Company Stage Manager include: The Royale (Bush Theatre); Nozze di Figaro, Alcina and Jenufa (Longborough Festival Opera); Romeo and Juliet (Rose Theatre Kingston). Credits as Stage Manager include: Bug (Found111); You For Me For You (Royal Court Upstairs); Wars of the Roses (Rose Theatre Kingston); King Lear (The Globe) Sunspots, The Mystae, Fault Lines, I Know How I Feel About Eve and Ignorance (Hampstead Downstairs).
natalie ibu
director
natalie ibu
director

natalie ibu is the Artistic Director of tiata fahodzi. For the company, directing credits include bricks and pieces, i know all the secrets in my world, tiata delights 15, here and mango.
Other directing credits include readings and productions at the Riverside Studios, Young Vic, Lyric, Southwark Playhouse, Southbank Centre, Jersey Arts Trust, The Old Vic Tunnels, Theatre503, The Gate, Latitude, HighTide, BAC, Oran Mor, Traverse, Royal Court, ATC at the Young Vic, OVNV at The Old Vic, Waterloo East and The Vineyard Theatre in New York, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Citizens’, The Arches, Contact and Nottingham Playhouse.
Residencies include New York Theatre Workshop, the National Theatre Studio, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Court, Citizens’ Theatre and Contact. She has been awarded bursaries from Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme, the Federation of Scottish Theatre, Scottish Arts Council and Arts Council East Midlands. Awards include Dewar Arts Award for Exceptional Artists Under 30, Time Warner Ignite 2, IdeasTap Innovator’s Award and the Lilian Baylis Award for Theatrical Excellence.
tara finney productions
producer
tara finney productions
producer

TEAfilms
video production company
TEAfilms
video production company

TEAfilms were formed in 2007 as a platform for creating and telling stories. Their work has taken them all over the globe collaborating with musicians, theatres, charities and educational institutes.
Some of their recent video design for theatre and theatre campaigns include: The Shakespeare Trilogy, My Mark (Donmar Warehouse), SLUG, Reformation Nation (nabokov), Mind The Gap (Tricycle Theatre), The 2014 and The 2016 Marketing campaigns (Underbelly), Bugsy Malone, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Herons, Tipping The Velvet (Lyric Hammersmith), Aliens Love Underpants (Nick Brooke Ltd), A Guide To Second Date Sex (Edinburgh Fringe, Soho Theatre), Three Birds (Bush Theatre), BABEL (Wild Works/BAC/Lyric Hammersmith/Theatre Royal Stratford East and Young Vic), Four Days Of Grace (New Diorama), Truth About Youth 2012, 2013 and 2014 (Ovalhouse), Weapon Of Choice (PAN Intercultural Arts).
zoe spurr
lighting designer
zoe spurr
lighting designer

zoe spurr trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Recent theatre lighting designs include The Truth (Central Szinhaz, Budapest); Muted (Bunker Theatre); Erwartung/Twice Through The Heart with Shadwell Opera (Hackney Showroom); The Knife Of Dawn (Sackler Studio, Roundhouse); Affection and Hookup with Outbox Theatre Company (Hackney Showroom/Contact Manchester/Site Specific); Torch and This Evil Thing (Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2016); A Serious Case of The F*ckits and The Heresy of Love (Central); Bitches (NYT, Finborough Theatre); Hookup with Outbox Theatre Company (Hackney Showroom/Contact Manchester). Corporate designs include the Terry Pratchett Final Book Launch at Waterstones, Piccadilly Circus, and Grey Goose Fly Beyond at the Welsh Presbyterian Chapel, Shaftesbury Avenue.