James Haddrell previews Stray Dogs at Theatre503

The idea of a killer wanting to pack it all in feels like familiar territory on screen.

The framework may change, but films like Polar, The American or the Bourne series are all about someone anticipating an end to a career of violence.

As short-lived as the attempt may be, even the final season of Killing Eve sees Villanelle trying to do good and lead a Godly life.

In theatre though the notion is far less common.

Whether that can be attributed to the difficultly of showing death on stage, the lack of thrillers in theatre in general, or simply a sense that theatre is for telling different kinds of stories, the retiring killer is not something you’ll stumble across on stage very often.

However, at Clapham’s new-writing powerhouse Theatre503, playwright Theo Chester is doing just that.

Stray Dogs is about an executioner who wants to put down his axe and become a healer instead.

Outside the city walls, people are starving. Inside, the rich townspeople hoard their grain and gold.

Executioner Jacob serves the elite and keeps those who steal in order. Like his father before him, he fixes their broken bones, sews up their wounds, and then chops off their heads.

He is convinced that he could serve his community better by just healing people, but unfortunately for him being an executioner is hereditary so retirement is not an option.

In an interview for Theatre503, Chester, who studied theology at university, said: “I find stories where characters wrestle with terrible decisions extremely compelling. I think it has a lot to do with my own worries: feelings of guilt, a desire to do the right thing, a fear of taking action and upsetting people.”

Stray Dogs means a lot to Chester. Though he has been a member of Soho Theatre’s Writers’ Lab and Writers’ Alumni Group, and has worked in film, assistant directing the feature documentary Summer in the Forest, this marks his debut as a produced playwright.

He said: “You spend so much time as a writer staring at a computer screen making small adjustments to a file that it is easy to forget what your play will look like.

“It has been so exciting to be in rehearsals and watch the cast play with the script, bringing their imagination, skill and thought, finding new resonances and ideas in the story. I feel so lucky to have such a talented cast portraying these characters and telling this story.”

For an emerging playwright like Chester, there could not be a better home for their work than Theatre503.

Working at the forefront of identifying and nurturing new voices at the very start of their careers, this tiny venue has been instrumental in discovering and launching modern classics like The Mountaintop by Katori Hall and Rotterdam by Jon Brittain – both Olivier Award winners – and future classics like Yasmin Joseph’s J’Ouvert, winner of the 2020 James Tait Black Prize, and Wolfie by Ross Willis, winner of the 2020 Writers Guild Award for Best New Play.

Stray Dogs is on at Theatre503 until April 1.

 

Picture: Graham Butler as Jacob in Stray Dogs
Picture: Dan Tsantilis