Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs) (Oberon Modern Plays)

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Ultimately, with all urban legends of this ilk, they endure for decades because awful things happen in big cities. Everyone’s paranoid, no-one trusts strangers; someone stealing a dead dog isn’t even the most horrible story I’ve heard this year, let alone in 12 years living in London. A compelling piece of theatre… One of the most joyful experiences you’ll have in a theatre this year.”– Haus of Phag

Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs) director Mike Shepherd discusses his research and vision for the production. Strong performances abound… A genuinely powerful ensemble performance. It’s an evening that is continually fascinating.”– Oldham Evening Chronicle When Carl announced the title was to be ‘Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs)’ there were raised eyebrows and pleas for us to change it to something more “accessible” but we held out. It seemed an important statement of intent that he wasn’t simply adapting John Gay’s original but radically re-writing it. Having been fired up we now wanted to leap far away from the comfort zone. As Carl wrote at the time: “….the story of a dead dog in a suitcase is a famous urban myth (google it) It’s a modern folklore and that feels like what our Beggar’s Opera is too. If John Gay’s was highwaymen, prostitutes and street thieves then ours is about the mythic underbelly of NOW-corporate conspiracy, hit men, weirdowarped Robin Hood types, the end of civilisation, dead dogs in suitcases…I mean what the HELL is the world coming to?”We are appealing for anyone who has seen someone with this particular holdall within the area around that time. Inspector for the charity, Robyn Myszor, said: “The dog was a white and tan male entire Staffordshire bull terrier cross. Read More Related Articles Together we interrogated John Gay’s original and Bertolt Brecht’s revision: we looked for ways to strengthen what we perceived as weaknesses, we ranted about the world and what makes us furious, and realised we were fired up to make a new Beggar’s Opera for our times.

Dave Holgate, from the RSPCA, said: "Litter is one of the biggest hazards our wildlife faces today - and it’s something that’s very easy to resolve. As the show ends, the audience jumps to its feet en masse for an uproarious standing ovation.”– Cultural Shenanigans

As well as Carl, it’s been thrilling to work with Charles Hazlewood whose score, great skill and spirit have taken us further than we dared, and I’m indebted to the brilliance of my creative team and the pioneering spirits of Gemma Bodinetz and Deborah Aydon of the Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse for making this happen. Thank you! You don’t realise quite how much this play has grabbed you till the closing moments. Absolutely brilliant. Another fantastic example of the quality theatre that HOME is bringing to Manchester.”– Quiet Man Dave A squirrel found trapped in a toilet roll and a deer tangled up in a football net were among the calls received by the RSPCA. Credit: RSPCA A deer was found tangled in a football net in Berkshire, the RSPCA It was freed and returned to the wild.