Unexpected Paths to Redemption
Social Animal started its life as a comedy sketch about a dog. It’s now evolved into a stage show that follows a down-on-his-luck actor who is followed home one evening by a stray, neurotic ex-racing greyhound. Stephen Papps is the star of the one-man show and is excited to bring it to Queenstown this month.
The show is satirical and compassionate in nature, and follows actor Joe Quigley and his journey to find relevance in a social media world. He was the face of Parks, the nation’s favourite TV detective, until one reckless comment cost him everything. Papps inhibits a menagerie of characters including the ill-disciplined dog and a quirky community of walkers.
“It’s also about a man who is very ambitious,” Papps says. “He’s an actor and actors tend to be very passionate about what they do and it becomes a huge part of their personality. When an actor loses his career, as this character does, it then becomes a question of how does he recalibrate, especially when he’s getting older.”
Papps explained that he did draw on some of his personal feelings and experiences when writing the show, but he’ll leave it up to the audience to ponder what’s what. It all came about as he used to walk a friend’s dog and he made a comedy sketch about the experience. He met co-creator and director Damon Andrews as they were both working on a show together in Wellington.
“We had a glass of wine and talked about what we might do together beyond that season and I said that I had this idea called Social Animal, and so we went about making a play that completely changed what it was about.”
This is where the greyhound was introduced and the sketch became a full show. They did a couple of seasons starting in 2023 and have reworked the script and show a couple of times since then. Papps says the show is where they want it now and he’s enjoying touring the country, receiving positive feedback.
“People love dogs, and stories about dogs, and we’ve made the story a satirical one. It’s about very flawed people, really, which is always good for comedy. Hopefully we’ve got the balance right in terms of a satire that is critical of people and their flaws, but also compassionate enough to have us, maybe, love them.”
Papps brings over 35 years of experience to the stage, having worked across screen and stage in the past. Social Animal will be his fourth self-written solo work and he really enjoys hearing what the audience gets out of his work. He doesn't want to give away what he thinks people will take away but says there's some themes and threads that run throughout.
“Damon and I prefer to present the way people are – the way animals are, how we react with each other, and the good and bad things we do, the funny things we do and the ridiculousness of trying to be somebody.”
Social Animal is presented in association with Greyhounds as Pets, highlighting a timely connection as New Zealand’s racing industry approaches its end this year and thousands of dogs will be seeking new lives.
Stephen Papps will perform Social Animal at Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall on Friday, 19 June. More information and tickets can be found at events.humanitix.com/social-animal
