Monkeydog on tour
Monkeydog Productions have four solo shows available for touring, all written and performed by Robert Cohen. In addition to the autobiographical memoir Dog’s Chosen, there are three acts of impersonation: the strange-but-true Cold War tale The Trials of Harvey Matusow, the traffic warden tragicomedy High Vis, and the Hamlet paraquel Something Rotten, in which the actions of the Danish prince are assessed through the eyes of his much-maligned uncle, King Claudius.
THE TRIALS OF HARVEY MATUSOW A McCarthyite supergrass confesses “The best one-hander I have seen all year” Plays International Harvey Matusow was America's most notorious liar – for a while, at least. A New York communist who switched sides, he ended up testifying for every major red-hunting organisation in early-’50s America – HUAC, SISS, McCarthy's committee, the works – then, after four years, he changed sides again and admitted he'd made up almost all of his testimony. Researched in the Matusow archives at the University of Sussex, The Trials of Harvey Matusow was directed by Ralf Higgins and premiered at the 2010 Brighton Festival. It went on to win the FringeReview Outstanding Theatre Award. |
HIGH VIS
A trafficomedy about a warden under siege. “Terrific stuff. Ricky Gervais could make millions from such an act” Quentin Letts Quint McBride is a proud man, and he's proud of his job. Some people, though, have no respect; he's thinking in particular of the hooligan who keeps coming after him with an air rifle – as a result of which he's been taken off front-line traffic duty to teach a bunch of new recruits. Humiliating, that's what it is. Humiliating. No offence. High Vis made its debut at the 2013 Brighton Festival, where it was acclaimed by remotegoat.com as “a master class in writing and performance”, and went on to a run of 24 performances at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe. |
SOMETHING ROTTEN Hamlet’s Uncle Claudius has his say at last! “An engaging and clever take on Hamlet’s Claudius” The Stage Consider this: your dearly beloved brother has died, and with him the hopes and dreams of your nation. It falls to you to pick up the crown and the pieces; a hard enough task as it is without the constant sniping of your nephew. Of course he resents your having wed his widowed mother – that’s only natural – but shall nature justify his increasingly outrageous behaviour? Fratricide! Regicide! These are the things of which you stand accused! Aye, something is rotten in the state of Denmark, and something must be done about it – blood or no blood. A paraquel to Shakespeare’s greatest work, Something Rotten won an Argus Angel award at the 2016 Brighton Fringe. |
DOG’S CHOSEN An Anglo-Welsh atheist explores his Jewish identity “So great to hear and see politics/passion/strong narration of powerful and complex issues” Audience review, Barnstaple Fringe And lo, in the year 2018, Robert beheld the strife that smote the Labour Party, and found himself compelled, after a lifetime of indifference, to engage with the matter of his semi-Jewish heritage. Thus, in a manner both playful and deadly serious, Dog’s Chosen addresses such questions as: • what is a Jew? • am I a Jew? • what is anti-semitism, and how much has it affected my life? • what, if any, is my relationship to the state of Israel? • and if there really is a worldwide Jewish conspiracy, what’s my role, and where do I go for a job description? Dog’s Chosen was premiered at the 2018 Stroud Theatre Festival. |
