The Little Dog Laughed

Editorial

When: 8 February - 13 March, 2010
Where: Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, Southbank, Brisbane
Tickets: $30 - $60
Bookings: QTIX 136 246 or www.qldtheatreco.com.au

If Noel Coward had endured the celebrity age, he would certainly have tossed off a nasty little something on the theme. But the king of the comedy of manners is long gone. In his place, evenly armed with People Magazine and substantial wit, is Douglas Carter Beane.

This playwright and screenwriter knows camp both high and low. Anyone who writes the book for a stage musical adaptation of kitsch classic Xanadu has a real feel for the pits of the culture.

And so it is, although a tad more intricately, with his workThe Little Dog Laughed. Using the conventions of drawing room theatre and the silliness of contemporary celebrity, Beane drew delighted audiences at his play's New York debut in 2006. And a nom nod from Tony.

It's rare to find a writer in any medium that can make the vacuous fascinating. But Beane's horrid hasty Hollywood demons deserve a rigorous attention as much as they need a good spanking.

Lauded director Michael Gow is hardly the sort to overlook complexity. Under his guidance, every little bit of pith will be served and savoured.

Make a meal, and a mockery, of modern manners in the parlour of the QTC

Helen Razer, Citysearch