Chicken in a Biscuit

Do you ever wonder what your dog is trying to tell you? Or why your cat scratches at the sofa rather the scratching pole that cost a fortune? Or why some pet owners appear obsessive?

Mary Rachel Brown and Jamie Oxenbould have gone beyond wondering! In Chicken in a Biscuit they’ve imagined life through the eyes of an aging labrador, a haughty Burmese cat, a yappy protective terrier – and three quite fanatical animal lovers.

They present them in a series of vignettes directed by Brown and performed by Oxenbould and Mandy Bishop on a soft, pastel, fur-friendly set designed by Kate Beere. Its picture book charm is heightened by clever lighting affects – and sounds – designed by Aaron Murray.

Brown directs to ensure the humour, the pathos – and the surprises – are carefully controlled and linked, just as they are in the script. The production moves smoothly, its surprises introduced surreptitiously …

Oxenbould begins as Truffles, the aging labrador, who presents a treatise on how animals’ extraordinary sense of smell can sniff out human emotions – and expands his premise to introduce the characters he and Brown have imagined.

Mandy Bishop is Zintra, a sexy, sinuous, velvety blue Burmese. Bishop sulkily expresses both Zintra’s feline arrogance – and the eccentricities of two different images of cat lovers!

The canine character she creates is a plucky, frustrated terrier, confined by a rope and a nasty barking collar, but desperately trying to protect her owner from an abusive partner.

She returns in a different protective role – a feisty animal shelter owner interviewing a prospective new owner, who, it appears is unlikely to make the grade.

Oxenbould’s human characters are beyond obsessive! The first is a divorced dentist who isolates himself in a house full of rabbits. The second dresses up his pug and sends photos across the world on various socials – resulting in a rather confronting situation at a film shoot.

Both these characters are eccentric, suggestive– and Oxenbould contains them in two very tight performances. His return as Truffles is much more pet friendly!

There is a lot more to this production than one expects! Bishop and Oxenbould make both the expected – and the unexpected – more than entertaining.

Carol Wimmer

Photographer: Becky Matthews