THE DOGS OF PAVLOV
by Dannie Abse
Music by Don Kincaid
Directed by Kenneth Ives
Cast:
Bryan Ayres, Sylvia Estop, Jean Harding, Michael Langridge, Wylie Longmore, David Pearson, Ffrangcon Whelan, Peter Whelan, Ann Whybrow
THE AUTHOR
Dannie Abse (1923–2014) was a Welsh poet, novelist, playwright and physician. Born into a Jewish family in Cardiff, he practised medicine for more than thirty years while establishing himself as one of Britain’s most admired contemporary poets.
Abse was a regular contributor to the New Plays Festival and a close friend of The Questors, which presented The House of Cowards (1960), Gone and The Joker (1962), Is the House Shut? (1964), The Dogs of Pavlov (1969) and Funland (1975).
The House of Cowards won the Charles Henry Foyle Award, while the publication of Three Questors Plays in 1967 reflected Abse’s particularly close association with the theatre.
The Questors later revived Gone in 1983 and presented Three Masks of “O” in 1997.
Alfred Emmet's Foreword to three of Dannie Abse's plays published in 1967
Dannie Abse on Wiklipedia
Dannie Abse Obituary (The Guardian)
THE PLAY
Questopics, June 1969
THE DOGS OF PAVLOV was conceived after Dannie, himself a doctor, had heard of certain experiments taking place in psychiatric laboratories at a number of American Universities.
In THE DOGS OF PAVLOV he explores a theme of individuals' reaction to evil commands—how far a person will allow himself to be manipulated when a conditioning process has taken away his normal reasoning powers.
The play has a public and private theme in that as well as exploring the questions arising from the advance of scientific experimentation, the individual is seen as a person in love, retaining a great emotional quality and attempting to trust, which is the basis of human relationships.
PRODUCTION PHOTOS
PRESS REACTION
Generally considered the Festival's most ambitious and thought-provoking work, The Dogs of Pavlov attracted strong praise despite some reservations.Garry O'Connor, writing in the Financial Times, believed it deserved a professional production, while the Middlesex County Times, described it as the Festival's most exciting play. Michael Billington, in The Times, admired its bold treatment of scientific ethics, although The Stage felt its powerful ideas were sometimes delivered too insistently.
The Financial Times
The Middlesex County Times
The Stage and Television Today
The Times
QUESTORS ARCHIVES
THE DOGS OF PAVLOV