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The machinations of dirty Hollywood are exposed in the Silo Theatre's biting comedy The Little Dog Laughed, which runs until November 15 at the Herald Theatre. If you enjoy speculating about your favourite star's sexuality and Tom Cruise's couch-jumping declarations of love had you equally appalled and entranced, then this is the play for you.
Written by Douglas Carter Beane and fresh from hit status in New York, this New Zealand premiere is an almost-love story about a closeted Hollywood playboy who must choose between his career, his agent and his cute toy boy.
Throw in some pan-sexual shenanigans, full frontal male nudity and more clever one-liners than any one play deserves and you have a perfect night at the theatre.
Directed by Silo Theatre artistic director Shane Bosher, this play is yet another example of his ability to find fresh and funny works that appeal to both die-hards and people who dismiss theatre.
Combining theatre's ability to truly explore the human condition with the tight pace of a television show or film, The Little Dog Laughed is not to be missed.
With Peter Elliott in the co-directing seat, Bosher draws out stellar performances from the cast of four, who received a standing ovation on opening night.
Paolo Rotondo is charm and charisma personified in a performance that is surprisingly deep given he's playing a shallow leading man with an unstoppable taste for box office domination. His love scenes with Charlie McDermott are tender and believable and the full frontal nudity seems a natural expression of the pair's passion for each other.
McDermott's performance is a good slow burner and his rent boy with a moral backbone gives the play a solid emotional heart.
Alison Bruce is in fine ball-busting form as the shark-like super agent, and Sophie Henderson demonstrates excellent comic timing as the goofy girlfriend who upsets the apple cart.
