Cast Set For DOG MOM UK Debut at Southwark Playhouse Borough
EnActe Arts' Vinita Belani leads the cast alongside Patty Gallagher and Joanna Holden in the offbeat comedy.
EnActe Arts have announced the full cast for the UK debut of Tate Elizabeth Hanyok's acclaimed comedy Dog Mom, which runs at Southwark Playhouse Borough from 14th October to 7th November 2026.
Leading the UK cast as Sarita is Vinita Belani, Founding Artistic Director of EnActe Arts, America's largest national South Asian theatre company. She has previously directed acclaimed productions including A Nice Indian Boy (Perseverance Theatre, Alaska), Chaos Theory (Cubberley Theatre, California) and The Conference of the Birds (Mexican Heritage Plaza, California).
Taking on the role of the adopted dog is Patty Gallagher (Artistic Associate of Rogue Theatre, Arizona and Santa Cruz Shakespeare, California); an acclaimed movement specialist, clown practitioner and Fulbright Scholar. The University of California Santa Cruz where Patty is a Professor of Theatre Arts recently honoured her with a Career Achievement Award for her contribution to movement-based character performance.
The cast also features Tom Barnes as Ruben (Twelfth Night, Shakespeare's Globe, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen House), Joanna Holden as Nell whose extensive stage career includes The Children's Hour (Royal National Theatre), The Boy Who Fell Into A Book (Soho Theatre), The Thirteen Midnight Challenges Of Angelus Diabolo (Royal Shakespeare Company) and Hansel And Gretel (Kneehigh); and Jarreau Antoine (Ensemble), (Screen Work: The Hustle distributed by Amazon MGM, the Netflix feature The Thursday Murder Club, and the BBC drama Doctors).
In this new London production, Dog Mom follows Sarita, an Indian American woman in her fifties rebuilding her life after divorce. Determined to embrace independence and start again on her own terms, her plans are disrupted when she reluctantly takes in an older stray dog. What follows is a funny, moving and unconventional story about unexpected companionship, community and the strange ways we find connection when we least expect it.
One of the play's most distinctive features is its theatrical approach to dogs, with human actors playing both people and dogs throughout the production. The performers embody the instincts, loyalty and chaotic energy of our four-legged companions, creating a playful and imaginative world that has already attracted strong critical attention in the US.
Written by Tate Elizabeth Hanyok, whose credits include the Hulu Original Sex Appeal, the HBO Max feature Love and Baseball (which she produced and co-adapted from her play of the same name), the romantic comedy The Pet Nup, the thriller Forgotten Abduction and the elevated horror film Zeus, Dog Mom reflects her bold, genre-blending approach to storytelling, shaped by years performing and developing new work as a company member at California's B Street Theatre.
Directed by bestselling crime novelist and theatre director Ajay Chowdhury, Dog Mom blends laugh-out-loud comedy with a poignant exploration of loneliness, reinvention and the unexpected connections that can transform our lives.
Produced by EnActe Arts in association with Riding Lights, the production forms part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere and marks the play's UK debut following eight productions across the United States, and a 2024 New Comedies Festival award in California.
