Paw-fect role up for grabs in classic work

Badger, the dog due to tour the country with the Touring Consortium Theatre Company – of which the Grand is a member – and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s new tour of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men, died from old age shortly before rehearsals began.

Now the company is looking to recruit a local, preferably elderly, dog, to appear when the production comes to Blackpool in March.

A spokesman said: “Most breeds and sizes will be considered, but he or she should ideally look relatively elderly and have the appearance of a ‘working’ dog, and must have a calm temperament.

“The dog will be on stage for around five minutes in total, alongside Dudley Sutton, who is playing Candy, and on a lead at all times.

“No previous acting experience needed.”

The dog and its owner will be needed from 6pm to 9pm on Tuesday, March 22, and from 7pm to 9pm from Wednesday to Saturday, March 23 and 26, as well as from 2pm to 3.30pm for the Wednesday and Saturday matinees.

Of Mice And Men is an American literary classic, telling of two migrant farm workers, bonded by “a mutual dependence, a deep affection and an undying loyalty, who go in search of new beginning in the hope of attaining their shared dream: of putting together enough money to buy a small piece of land and building a home”.

A spokesman added: “No strangers to trouble, George and Lennie soon find themselves reeling from the fallout of an innocent misunderstanding which spirals out of control and leaves the two men, bound together by friendship, facing an earth-shattering climax.

“A story, raw in speech and action, full of heart and unflinching realism, it remains one of the most poignant statements of being human our contemporary theatre has produced.”

To apply email [email protected] or telephone 0844 5880 848.