REVIEW: SICK DOG by Green Door Theatre Company at Bread and Roses Theatre 11-13 August 2026
“Who or what is real and do we perhaps envy that which isn’t?” ★★★★
Who or what is real and do we perhaps envy that which isn’t? Winnie (Cara Crofts) is terminally ill. The robot carer she designed, Eliza (Pearl D’Souza), is perhaps the closest thing she has to a friend. D’Souza’s performance charms, blurring the line between robot and human, until both Winnie and we are left questioning just what truly gives us humanity. The simultaneously depressing but comforting answer we arrive at seems to be that humans eventually rot. This is the tonal line that Maariya Khalid’s writing treads with precision.
In this tightly woven, witty two-hander, there are no pretensions about the realities of being ill, both mentally and physically, nor are there overly heightened moments of drama. We are given a glimpse into one evening of Winnie and Eliza’s life together – making risotto, watching Love Island, Winnie teaching Eliza to joke. The production is small in scale and scope but feels intentional in its focus, as Crofts’s portrayal of Winnie allows her loneliness and grief at the loss of her old life seep into every second of this 50 minute show.
One critique though, is of the show’s ending, as Eliza wishes Winnie goodnight and Winnie lays down to go to bed. Despite the production having earlier established its slice-of-life, real-time style, this feels like an abrupt end both to the characters and our night. It feels as though the show could use a moment of breath as it ends.
Yet, overall, this is a promising piece of new writing, featuring two actors whose undeniable chemistry allows them to play easily off one another, and an endearing meditation on the end of a life.
SICK DOG by Maariya Khalid, directed by Lily Gilchrist (Green Door Theatre Company), Bread and Roses Theatre, 11-13 August 2026
Tickets are available from the Bread and Roses Theatre: https://app.lineupnow.com/event/sick-dog?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio
