WE'RE NOT GETTING A DOG Comes to Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre

A new storytelling show from Scarborough-born performer Sam Freeman comes to the town's Stephen Joseph Theatre next month as part of a national tour.

We're Not Getting a Dog (A Show Largely Not About Dogs) is a story about passive aggressive letter writing, early morning jet washing and making a house a home. It's about those who live, laugh and love metres from us, but who really, we barely know at all. 

A couple run through the rain to catch a bus. A man stares at a blank laptop screen in desperation. A woman opens an envelope to find a photo inside. A new house on a new street with new neighbours.

A roughly 72-minute show, read from a little black book, by a scruffy, bearded, glasses-wearing man in a red check shirt and black jeans who does not own a pressure washer. 

Sam Freeman says: “I fully intended on writing a show about dogs – it was going to be in the first person, I even researched man-sized dog costumes and building a set that included a giant dog basket, but then as I was writing what emerged was something different and the show morphed into a story about finding your place, about love and finding a home. Which was lucky because costumes and giant dog baskets are crazy expensive for a 6ft man.”

**This show has minimal references to dogs.

Sam grew up in Scarborough and attended Newby Primary and Scalby Secondary schools, and Scarborough Sixth Form College.

His first stage appearance was at the SJT, in An Honest Trade, and the first show he wrote (for Rounders, the youth group at the time) was Three Cheers for HRH. Sam also worked front of house at the SJT for around two years, and played music locally – he was in the EASY Band.