Located very centrally – a stone’s throw away from Piccadilly Circus and tucked away is the Jermyn Street Theatre. Going down you’re transported into a very intimate, slightly claustrophobic space which is the home to some exciting new off west-end plays, with The Dog Walker not being an exception.
The play revolves around Herbert, a professional dog walker, meeting Keri and trying to walk her Pekingese dog. If he can find it. With many twists and turns they bring out a different side in each other.
For me, the play feels long at 90 minutes, although I believe it was closer to 100 minutes tonight. Paul Minx’s dialogue is sharp and witty with many cracking lines (my personal favourite being ‘with what did Jesus pay for my sins? Praypal?’), although a lot of the play feels very much on one level. Whilst covering several subjects such as coping with grief, alcoholism and loneliness (to name a few), it often was covered by the almost consistent conflict between the two characters. The only exception was the very end, where the supernatural ending felt like a completely different play to what I’d just been seeing.
