''Dogfall'' is an Australian

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

written by

South Australian South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

playwright

Caleb Lewis Caleb Lewis is an Australian playwright and game designer. He is known for his play '' Dogfall'', first produced in 2007 in Adelaide, South Australia. Early life and education Lewis' father was a diver, whose job at one time was to retrieve bo ...

, first produced in November 2007. Set in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, this absurdist play has an anti-war theme.

Plot and themes

The play is set in 1916, during the Somme. Alone in their bunker Will, a soldier, and Jack, a medic, fight to survive the war whole. The battle shifts continuously, and the sky continues to fall... ''Dogfall'' depicts the absurdity of war; outside it is literally raining cats dogs, and other animals. The two men are joined by "semi-

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaig ...

" Alousha, and scenes from other theatres of war, notably

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the m ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

, Rwanda, and

Guantanamo Bay detention camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp ( es, Centro de detención de la bahía de Guantánamo) is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo, GTMO, and Gitmo (), on the coast of Guant ...

are portrayed. The plot is absurd but the themes complex and multi-layered.

Original production

The first production of this anti-war play was launched at the Bakehouse Theatre in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

from 2 to 17 November 2007. Critic Stephen Davenport described it as a "brilliant play" that was "disturbing and morbidly funny" and "superbly written by Caleb Lewis". US playwright

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as '' The Zoo Story'' (1958), '' The Sandbox'' (1959), '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), '' A Delicate Balance'' (196 ...

, with whom Lewis had undertaken a two-week workshop, called the play "wonderful".

Cast

The cast comprised: *Brendan Rock *Martin Hissey *Joseph Del Re

Crew

*Director: Justin McGuinness *Composer: Peter Nielsen *Lighting: Nic Mollison *Costume & Props: Tsubi Du *Publicity: Antje Guenther *Produced by: TheimaGen

2016 U.S. production

''Dogfall'' was staged by

Iron Age Theatre Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, in the United States, in February 2016, directed by John Doyle.

References

{{reflist 2007 plays Australian plays Existentialist plays Gulf War fiction Plays set in Iraq Kuwait in fiction Plays set in France Plays set in Russia Plays set in Vietnam Vietnam War fiction Plays about World War I Plays about World War II Theatre of the Absurd