THE DOG / THE CAT By Brendan Cowell And Lally Katz To Be Presented By FTC And JackRabbit Productions

Last performed to sell-out house at Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, FTC + JackRabbit Productions will bring an incredible double-bill to WA for the first time. Staged in Victoria Hall in Fremantle, The Dog/The Cat is a part of the inaugural season of the FTC Independent incubator.

Sharing man's best friend with your ex-best friend is hard. Being in the doghouse with your own cat is harder.

THE DOG / THE CAT by Brendan Cowell & Lally Katz is a purr-fect rom-com double bill about breakups, makeups and the pets caught in the middle of their human's drama. Whether its negotiating park etiquette, or organizing shared custody of a fussy feline, this WA premiere has something for both dog & cat people alike.

The Dog

What better ice breaker is there than a bag of fresh dog poo? Brendan Cowell (of Love My Way, The Slap, Ruben Guthrie, Beneath Hill 60) brings his usual flair for wit and banter in this insightful look at the awkward world of friendship and romance at the dog park.

Following ex-best friends, Ben and Marcus and their separate trips to the park with their co-owned dog 'Jerry Seinfeld', this relatable rom-com lifts its leg on dog owners, park goers and the relationship drama of aspirational 30 somethings.

The Cat

Breakups are hard to watch, gruelling and gruesome... unless of course there is a brutally honest, Parent Trap watching Cat involved! Lally Katz (of Neighbourhood Watch, Wentworth, Stories I Want to Tell You in Person) gleefully, surreally and at some points musically, takes us on a voyeuristic tour of breakups, rebounds and an up-close exploration of what our pets truly think of us.

Following the marriage collapse of Alex and Albert - a situation made more complicated by the shared custody arrangement they make for their moody cat 'Cat' - this joyous comedy is a charming, quirky and hilariously fresh take on the rom-com genre.

Starring a locally grown three-hander cast of JAMES SWEENEY (Totally Completely Fine, Total Control, Home & Away, Neighbours, The Secret Daughter), ADAM SOLLIS (The Surfer, Cloud Street, Home & Away, Stormworld) and SIOBHAN DOW-HALL (Zac & Me, Cloud Street, The Reckoning). Directed by MICHAEL ABERCROMBY who is delighted to return to Victoria Hall after his acclaimed performance in FTC's 2022 production of The Last Train To Freo.

About the Artists

James Sweeny is an accomplished screen & theatre actor, appearing in the AACTA award-winning first season of Total Control (ABC), playing opposite Jessica Mauboy in The Secret Daughter (Ch7), and most recently in the Stan Original, Totally, Completely, Fine. You may also recognise him from Home & Away, Neighbours, Love Child and Molly. James has led mainstage productions at BLACK SWAN State Theatre Company, including As You Like It, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and Tartuffe. James is also an avid writer, co-writing The Pitch (winner of the weekly Comedy award at Fringe World 2020), Good, Die, Young (2018 Sydney Fringe) and The Swell Party, which toured Dublin for their theatre festival in 2013. James graduated from the acting program at WAAPA in 2013, and is excited to return to his hometown to perform The Dog/The Cat for Fremantle Theatre Company.

Adam Sollis was born and bred a stone's throw from Fremantle, he received his high-school education at John Curtin College of the Arts before being accepted into the prestigious Acting program at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, graduating in 2014. Adam's television and film credits include Cloudstreet, Stormworld, Dance Academy: The Movie, Riot [ABC] Home and Away, and most recently The Surfer, starring Nicolas Cage. Adam's theatre credits include Tonsils and Tweezers (BLACK SWAN State Theatre Company), Once In Royal David's City (Queensland Theatre/BSSTC), Hit, Necrophilia and WRATH (JackRabbit Theatre Company), Shepherd (Belvoir 25A), Never Closer (25A) and The Effect for Fremantle Theatre Company. Adam will be reprising his role in Never Closer in mid 2024 for the Belvoir main stage season.

Siobhan Dow-Hall studied acting at the WA Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), and as a life-long Fremantle resident is thrilled to be performing at Victoria Hall. Recent performance highlights include Playthings, by Scott McArdle for BLACK SWAN State Theatre Company, and Susie Conte's adaption of A Doll's House for Tempest Theatre. Siobhan is delighted to be working with such fantastic artists on The Dog/The Cat, even though she and Adam Sollis played brother and sister in Foxtel's Cloudstreet, and this time around they're playing...not brother and sister. Siobhan is also writing her PhD, teaches at WAAPA and the University of Notre Dame, and is so happy to see all her favourite students in the audience.

About the Director

Michael Abercromby, MA. was born and raised in Perth, where he spent time working as a musician before starting work as an actor, writer and director. Since returning to Perth in 2018, after some time over east, Michael has continued acting and directing with everyone he can. He staged his own work FRONT at The Blue Room Theatre Summer Nights 2019 where he was nominated for Best Director (PAWA Awards). As an actor he has been seen in Theatre 180's ongoing smash hit A Fortunate Life, The Last Great Hunt's Bite the Hand, and BBSTC's Barracking for the Umpire and Oil. He is proud to return to co-lab with Fremantle Theatre Company after performing in Last Train to Freo where he was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (PAWA Awards). Michael is also a passionate educator; lecturing and directing at WAAPA and working with John Curtin College of the Arts as a guest director.

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