REVIEW: DOG MOM @ SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE

🎭 Dog Mom

📍 The Little, Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London, SE1 6BD

🗓 Friday 16th October 2026

⭐️ 2 Stars

BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE

Let’s be real for a second. I am exactly the target audience for this show. I love the Southwark Playhouse, I love a quirky indie comedy, I'm a dog dad, and I can absolutely appreciate the unhinged chaos of a good pet story. So when I heard Tate Elizabeth Hanyok’s DOG MOM was making its UK premiere in The Little, featuring human actors playing a pair of Brooklyn mutts, I was fully ready to sit back and let the wholesome vibes wash over me.

And at the beginning, I was totally on board.

The setup is classic sitcom fare, but with a lovely cultural twist. We meet Sarita, a fifty-something Indian-American divorcee trying to rebuild her life in a cramped Brooklyn flat. She insists she’s not a dog person. Enter Foster, a scruffy, geriatric golden retriever who wanders in and simply refuses to leave.

But here’s the kicker: Foster isn’t a cute puppet or a real dog. She’s played by Patty Gallagher in a masterclass of physical theatre. Gallagher is easily the best thing on that stage. From the frantic tail-wags to the specific way a dog shifts its weight before lying down, her physical comedy is absolutely joyful. Paired with Tom Barnes as the needy neighbouring dog Ruben, the canine bits are a total hoot. And don't even get me started on Jarreau Antoine, who commands the stage, stealing every single scene he’s in - especially when he pops up as a sassy neighbourhood cat doing full-on Bob Fosse choreography!

But unfortunately, a play cannot survive on bottom-sniffing gags and cat dances alone.

There were lots of elements that just didn't make sense to me. For example, why on earth is Sarita suddenly able to understand and converse with Foster after a thunderstorm? No explanation, it just happens. And as the show rolls into the second half, the tone takes a massive, jarring turn. It stops being a goofy comedy and tries to become a heavy, tear-jerking meditation on mid-life loneliness, infertility, and grief. Look, I’m all for emotional depth, but the script starts handling these massive themes with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The dialogue begins to sound less like natural human conversation and more like a series of quotes from a self-help Instagram page. Something comedian Joe Lycett would refer to as "bullshit quotes"!

It also doesn’t help that the plot is deeply predictable. The minute a geriatric dog is introduced in Act One, you already know exactly what heartbreaking note Act Two is going to end on. Because the script leans so hard into over the top, sentimental cliches, the emotional climax feels completely unearned. Instead of crying, I found myself checking my watch.

Director Ajay Chowdhury does his best to keep the energy high, but the production choices are a bit of a mixed bag. The digital images on the back wall feel a bit cheap and distracting. The way they don't always fill the space was weird and frankly annoying, and they only succeeded in taking away from the live action on stage.

I'm also sorry to say that I was deeply disappointed with the performance of Vinita Belani as Sarita. As our central anchor, everything just felt very surface-level. There was a real lack of emotional depth or intent in her delivery. I couldn't help but feel that when she was on stage, she was just waiting to say her next line rather than actually being in the moment. Sadly for me, this drained a lot of the genuine stakes out of the piece.

Ultimately, DOG MOM has an enormous amount of heart and a fiercely talented physical cast who are working their absolute tails off. If you’re content with some genuinely brilliant physical comedy and a story that doesn't demand too much intellectual heavy lifting, you’ll have a perfectly pleasant evening. But for me, the uneven script and flat central performance meant this particular pooch just couldn't quite fetch the full marks.

If you want to make up your own mind, DOG MOM continues performances at Southwark Playhouse Borough until Saturday 7th November. CLICK HERE to find out more about the show and to book tickets.

Neill Kovacic-Clarke

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair, and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one reviewer.  

My ticket for this performance of Dog Mom was gifted by GingerBread Agency, who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given. 

CAST:

Vinita Belani as Sarita; Patty Gallagher as Foster; Joey Holden as Nell; Tom Barnes as Ruben; Jarreau Antoine as Ensemble

CREATIVES:

Writer - Tate Elizabeth Hanyok; Director and Producer - Ajay Chowdhury; Designer - Sean Cavanagh; Lighting Designer - Oliver Brown; Sound Designer - Naveen Bhatia; Producer - Vinita Belani; Costume Designer - Raashina Humayun

RUNNING TIME (approx):

1 hour 50 minutes, including interval

CONTENT WARNINGS:

Strong language; Sexual innuendo; References to death, animal death, and infertility; Thunder and lightening effects

AGE RECOMMENDATION:

14+

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