Dogstar Theatre Company
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"Absolutely amazing.  Beautiful, funny and sad.  
​Terrific theatre.  Thank you."

AUDIENCE MEMBER, STORNOWAY
 The Stornoway Way - 2019
by Kevin MacNeil
​
“As an ensemble, they tick like a Swiss watch, darting here and there without missing a beat. And they can’t half belt out a tune… MacNeil’s play is at least as good as his novel, and the novel was very good indeed.”  Michael Russell, West Highland Free Press

“Love, whisky, self-destruction, Lewis, jokes, songs, writer Kevin MacNeil’s zen wisdom, all wrapped up with an ace cast…ingenious design…powerful characters….an absorbing drama – that’s The Stornoway Way.” Margaret Chrystall, Inverness Courier



Kevin MacNeil's adaptation of his acclaimed novel The Stornoway Way  opened at An Lanntair, Stornoway on August 30th & 31st 2019 prior to a Scottish Tour. The show features a vibrant ensemble of three young women - Naomi Stirrat, Rachel Kennedy & Chloe-Ann Tylor with songs in Gaelic and English by Kevin, Willie Campbell & Colin MacLeod
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​​LETS INHERIT THE EARTH by Morna Pearson 2018                  Edinburgh Festival Fringe, touring in Scotland and Sweden 
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CAST
  • ​Lina Hognert
  • Jan Karlsson
  • Sarah McCardie
  • Tobias Morin
  • Matthew Zajac


Directed by Ben Harrison
Designed by Ulla Karlsson
Music & Sound by Jonny Hardie 
Songs arranged by Brian MacAlpine
Lighting by Martin Ogland
Masks by Jacob Petersson 

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".
..quite simply a show and a half...Let’s Inherit The Earth emerges as one of the most anarchic, timely and memorable shows on the Fringe”  Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman

“...a punchy, powerful reminder that we could be doing a whole lot more to ensure that our children do inherit the earth” Claire Wood, The Wee Review

​“a rowdy piece of popular theatre written by Morna Pearson and accompanied by an exceptionally catchy, original pop-punk score by Jonny Hardie”  Broadway World

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THE SKY IS SAFE by Matthew Zajac 2017
WINNER ! of Summerhall's LUSTRUM AWARD for OUTSTANDING THEATRE at the Edinburgh Festival 2017
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CAST
    
  • Dana Hajaj
  • Matthew Zajac​
​
Directed by Ben Harrison
Set by Nihad Al Turk 
Costume by Ali Maclaurin
Music and sound by Pippa Murphy

"...an emotionally charged and politically powerful masterpiece...
a beautiful and accessible script about the Syrian tragedy… The energy and chemistry between both performers, including Zajac himself, is hypnotising…Dana Hajaj, gives an extraordinary and emotionally draining performance...book your tickets now."  
Mariam Larranzair, Edinburgh Festivals Magazine

"...
a magnified insight into the complex turmoil experienced by female refugees…The Sky is Safe feels like necessary theatre."
Tara Fitzparitck, Common Space

"Don't miss a chance to see it."  Keith Bruce, The Herald
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MUNGO PARK:Travels in the Interior of Africa 2016-2018
WINNER ! of Summerhall's LUSTRUM AWARD for OUTSTANDING THEATRE at the Edinburgh Festival 2016​
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CAST
  • ​Matthew Zajac as Mungo Park
  • Anders Budde Christensen
  • Kingsley Amadi

Directed by Martin Lyngbo
Written by Martin Lyngbo and Thor Bjorn Krebs

Dogstar is delighted to be working with one of Scandinavia’s most innovative and popular independent theatre companies, Mungo Park Arts Centre of Copenhagen to bring a highly entertaining and epic adventure story to audiences - the story of the Scottish explorer Mungo Park.
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The Tailor of Inverness by Matthew Zajac 2008 to 2019
Winner Best Actor Award 2009 Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland
2008 Scotsman Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award Winner 
The Stage Award for Best Solo Performer Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2008
Holden Street Theatre Award, Adelaide Fringe Festival 2008
Nominated Best Theatre Production & Best Theatre Performance Adelaide 2009

"...a beautifully realised tale of the reality of survival in war-torn Eastern Europe...Matthew Zajac's moving performance is a triumph of evocative staging and storytelling."  The Observer
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​Sweetness by Kevin MacNeil 2011
​adapted from the novel by Torgny Lindgren


"Sweetness is a piece of skewed, post-modern storytelling that revels in its own oddness.  There's something at the heart of such a wild piece of contemporary folklore that says something about the ruthlessness of creation itself."  The Herald
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 The Captain's Collection by Hamish MacDonald 1999,2000, revived 2012

Adapted into a 4-part series for BBC Radio Scotland - Winner of the Golden Torc for Best Radio Production Celtic Film & TV Awards 2000
“An engrossing treat…fascinating and provocative music theatre pulling together history, storytelling, cultural politics…and some hilarious madcap humour.” 
Sue Wilson, The Scotsman
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Seven Ages by Hamish MacDonald 2001,2004 & 2007

Performance Award Winner, Ternopil Theatre Festival, Ukraine. 

"Terrifically well done...ambitious, stylish and very popular, and a timely reminder of the quality of performers all over Scotland." 

Robert Dawson Scott  The Times
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'e Polish Quine by Henry Adam 2007

​“…a rich, responsible and deeply poetic piece of work which powerfully links traditional life on the land in Aberdeenshire both with the ferment of post-war Britain and with the hell through which millions of European farms and villages had just passed.  Matthew Zajac and Dogstar are to be congratulated on a gallant, heartfelt attempt to give this major play the public platform it deserves.” 
Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman
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​The Strathspey King by Hamish MacDonald 2003

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“…a fine ensemble cast deliver strong performances in what is a powerful look at good and evil, displacement and assimilation – and what, if anything, separates man from beast.”  Metro
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Factor 9  by Hamish MacDonald 2014  and 2019/20
opened for a week at Profilteatern's Festival of Horror & Art (Skrackfestival) in Umea, Sweden in March 2014, part of Umea's year as European Capital of Culture.  Further dates in Denmark & Wales were followed by a Scottish tour during April. We were thrilled to work again with Ben Harrison who worked so successfully with us on The Tailor of Inverness.  We are also worked for the first time with the highly accomplished designer Emily James, lighting designer Paul Claydon and composer Pippa Murphy.

"...a furiously skilful play.  Everything works: the timing of the actors, the lighting, the sound and video projections...Be sure to see it.  It is an important play about a dark time." 
​Anders Sjogren, Vasterbottens Kuriren
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The Baroness by Thor Bjorn Krebs 2013
“Roberta Taylor gives a powerful, vivid performance as Blixen, with Ewan Donald in fine form as the poet, and Aidan O’Rourke providing some terrific, jarring recorded violin music.”
Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman
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Jacobite Country by Henry Adam 2010

"A wild, roving comedy that takes the cliches of the male Scots psyche that attempts to bridge the cultural tug-of-war between hand-me-down myth and more modern times.  Adam's preoccupations resemble those of American writer Sam Shepard's own relationship with the Wild West, which the Highlands can arguably be said to be the equivalent of..." The Herald
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The Seer by Ali Smith 2006

"...a near-perfect example of post-modernism in all its playful glory."  The Scotsman

The Heretic’s Tale by Hamish Macdonald 2006

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“This latest show from Inverness-based Dogstar is stuffed to the brim with incident, history, madness and fascination.”
Joyce MacMillan  The Scotsman
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Redcoats, Turncoats & Petticoats by Hamish MacDonald 1998

“a deft blend of solid research, comic absurdity, withering satire, lyrical imagery and swift changes of mood and pace” Inverness Courier
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"...imaginative and beautifully realised music theatre."
The Herald
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The Company

Artistic Director:  Matthew Zajac  
Producer: Donna Macrae 
© Copyright Dogstar Theatre.

​Dogstar Theatre Company is a registered Scottish Charity
​Charity No: SC032678

Dogstar is a member of the Federation of Scottish Theatre &
​The Independent Theatre Council

Mailing Address

c/o Donna Macrae
​Firefly Productions
Aros, Upper Knockbain Road
Dingwall, IV15 9NR

Email



Board and Associates

Board Members
Stephanie Smart, Nick Fearne, Brian Spence,
Calum Duncan, Andrew Bruce, Leonie Gibbs


Associate Artists
Annie Grace, Jonny Hardie, Alyth McCormack,
Bruce MacGregor, Gavin Marwick, Douglas Russell

Thank You to our funders and supporters
Creative Scotland
Highland Council
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
The Hugh Fraser Foundation
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