Like A Dog (Your Good Friends) 2012 Toronto Fringe Review

Andy Trithardt, Peter C Wylde and Jennetta Lamb in Like A Dog

Like A Dog is anything but a dog of a play. Your Good Friends let the dog out at Robert Gill Theatre as part of Toronto Fringe Festival. It’s also the first time the legendary Peter C. Wylde has performed in almost a decade.

I would describe Like A Dog as a cross between the old television program The Twilight Zone and a William S. Burroughs novel. It is a mixture of many different genres including drama, psychological thriller, science fiction, suspense, and horror. It is thought-provoking, a gigantic “what if?” Writer and director Matthew Gorman has created something special.

Like A Dog demands and deserves your attention and respect. There were a few times I found myself literally on the edge of my seat. Your Good Friends have absolutely succeeded in engaging their audience in passionate debate.

The thought-provoking script is largely responsible. Andy Trithardt also does a great job of breaking down the fourth wall. He talks about the play while in the play. He does it so that it doesn’t seem forced or gimmicky.

Wylde plays a man who has died but is still alive. He isn’t a zombie and he isn’t a ghost. He’s been alive forever and lived as many people. He is kind of a wonderful grandfather with an amazing grasp of our collective memory.

Jennetta Lamb has given birth three months early. The baby was born the same day Peter “died”. Lamb does a great job. Her character is an outcast and says lots of things that mothers are expected or allowed to say. We feel her disenchantment.

Trithhardt is a doctor trying to understand what exactly Peter is. He also develops a relationship with both “the new mom” and Peter. The play asks the most important question. It is haunting and it is life-affirming. It is hopeful.

If Like A Dog were a bad play, it would still be worth attending in order to see Wylde perform. Fortunately for us, it is a thought-provoking, entirely worthwhile success.

Details:

  • Like A Dog plays at Venue 9, Robert Gill Theatre, 214 College St., 3rd floor
  • Showtimes: Wed. July 4 @ 9:30 PM, Sat. July 7 @ 8:30 PM, Mon. July 9 @ 6:30 PM, Wed. July 11 @ 1:45 PM, Thu. July 12 @ 10:15 PM, Fri. July 13 @ 9:15 PM, Sun. July 15 @ 4:30 PM
  • All individual Fringe tickets are $10 ($5 for FringeKids) at the door (cash only). Tickets are available online at www.fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-966-1062, in person at The Randolph Centre for the Arts, 736 Bathurst Street (Advance tickets are $11 – $9+$2 service charge)
  • Value packs  are available if you plan to see at least 5 shows

Photo of Andy Trithardt, Peter C Wylde and Jennetta Lamb by Matthew Norman