Top Dog Theatre Company Inc. is an independent, non-professional theatre company based in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Contents
Overview
The company was established by UK-born Derek Doddington following a successful Christchurch production of Steven Berkoff's West directed and produced by Doddington in 2003. The company typically produces two major productions per year, one being a smaller-scale and often dramatic work, the other an outdoor Summer Shakespeare play in Mona Vale Gardens. The group was voted the Best Small Theatre Company by the Christchurch The Press newspaper in both 2003 and 2004.
History and achievements
Founder Doddington has been a practitioner in theatre since the 1980s. He co-founded the Dolce Vita Theatre company in the United Kingdom, where he gained experience not just in directing, but also the production aspects of mounting theatre productions. Indeed, the successful outdoor Shakespeare productions of Top Dog Theatre were based on a similar model used by Dolce Vita. Doddington emigrated to New Zealand in the 1990s, initially living in New Plymouth before settling in Christchurch. He became involved with the pre-existing theatre groups in the city, but when he could not find a willing platform from which to stage the type of theatre he wanted to direct, he chose to take the independent route and form a new company.
With the first few productions of the young company, it became apparent that Top Dog Theatre was filling a previously vacant niche in terms of audience and type of theatre. In its 2003 end-of-year theatre summary, the Christchurch Press newspaper awarded the group the title 'Best Small Theatre Company', "for treading where most amateur groups would fear to go. Driven by the determination and sheer chutzpah of its founder and director Derek Doddington, its production of Equus eclipsed its earlier gritty performance of West. This particular thespian animal may still be a puppy but one with teeth."
Although the company is nominally 'amateur', since it does not have contractual arrangements involving remunerations, some commentators have noted that its best productions are of equivalent quality to that of professional theatre. Furthermore, a number of performers from Top Dog Theatre shows have subsequently been cast by Christchurch's professional theatre company, The Court Theatre.
Productions
(All productions directed by Derek Doddington unless otherwise noted.)