Hannah Tookey
Victoria Melody’s ability to laugh at herself is infectious. In an uplifting and welcoming show charting some of her slightly absurd life choices, Melody invites us to laugh with her and at her.
It seems like a pretty normal decision to get a dog. Yet most dog owners, whilst proud and affectionate towards their animal, might not consider dog pageants their next logical step. For Vicky, although not so much for her less-willing husband Mitch, it’s hardly even a matter of choice to enter their lazy yet endearing basset hound, Major Tom, into a series of amateur dog shows. And so begins the arduous task of learning and training, and letting other people make her, and her dog, their project.
Melody’s colloquial tone and warm retelling of her story are what make this show. She’s believable and honest, and invites us to marvel with her at the hilarity of pageants: how there is a right way to stand still whilst someone views your profile, that there are very slight differences in what makes one dog’s, or human’s, gait better than another’s and that you will most certainly be judged on whether your coat or hair meets the required level of shininess. The steps she takes along her journey from one competition to another, and her series of unnecessary and slightly bonkers decisions (would you deliberately gain two stone in order to have more weight to lose after Christmas?) make for a bizarrely amusing account.
There’s also a strikingly heartfelt relationship between Major Tom and Melody. Competitive and driven enough to put her canine companion through hours of training classes with Brian in the village hall, she still feels and bears the humiliation and disappointment when he places last, and rejoices with him when he does make a podium finish. There’s almost definitely a moral in there somewhere about only subjecting others to the same treatment and experiences that you’d like to endure, but it’s subtle and shrouded in humour.
Melody brought her story vividly to life through a flood of video footage documenting her proud moments, her disappointing ones, and even her embarrassing ones. She’s not afraid to let us see the sweat and effort that went into this journey and it makes her all the more charming as we ride the highs and lows with her. Short re-enactments and demonstrations with Major Tom are delightfully entertaining, and of course, there’s nothing like an adorable dog to win an audience over.
Major Tom is playing at Battersea Arts Centre until 15 March. For more information and tickets, see the Battersea Arts Centre website.