Review of GOOD BOY - Deconstructing the Hero
Deconstructing the Hero:
Coming from Cyprus, a post conflict country, with the barbed wire and shredded sandbags still in place, painful reminders of the incompetence of our politicians and the utter helplessness of our fate on the chessboard of the Levant, Paige Allerton's "Good Boy" created the perfect conditions to reconsider (our) military culture.
The glorified figure of the soldier, depicted in our history books and showcased in our town squares, is re-conceptualized in Allerton's performance as a random, indecisive and scared presence in the face of aggression and manipulation. She creates a world which is constantly framed by violence and confines, such as army camps, buildings, people, even one's own fear. In this world, the only companions are human indecisiveness and a dog. Both inconstant factors, which make the story unpredictable and flowing with the rhythm of life itself.
As the national narratives depict soldiers as robust and masculine figures, stable and assertive in the face of death, Allerton's "Good Boy" artfully and concretely challenges these very basic elements, re-framing the world of the army for what it (potentially) really is.
Dr. Ellada Evangelou
Artistic Director Rooftop Theatre. Nicosia, Cyprus
“ Paige Allerton’s ‘Good Boy’ is a story written with a sharpened pencil.”
