Comedian Tom Allen seeks legal action after the removal of his canine co-star puts his show in jeopardy.
Just three weeks before one of the biggest performances of his career, award-winning comedian Tom Allen has been forced to re-write his entire show. Allen's management is seeking legal action against organisers of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival over the eviction of his co-star, a dog.
The star of Channel 4's TNT Show faced many complaints from audiences in London where he previewed Tom Allen Toughens Up, a show which sees him explore why nice people fear confrontation. His analysis was to be complemented by his black, furry co-star Maggie, however the audience felt the presence of a dangerous dog was inappropriate, causing the removal of the Rottweiler under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Rob Sandy at Richard Bucknall Management reveals that as well as the ruined creativity of the show, there are many other problems. “All flyers and adverts have been printed way in advance promoting Maggie and Tom together”, says Sandy. “Audiences will be disappointed and we could be seriously out of pocket as a result”. According to Sandy, the removal of Maggie means the advert is now unrepresentative and may even be pulled by the Advertising Standards Committee.
Speaking on the last minute change, Allen says, “It's discrimination really. If Maggie had been a small terrier, she'd just be considered cute”. He adds, “She's a sweet dog who spends most of the performance staring at me with her big brown eyes and panting at my feet...She loves an audience”. Although that may be, it is unlikely that Maggie will return to the stage, as the Dangerous Dog Act states that a dog may be excluded from specific places whether or not the dog has been shown to have injured any person.
However, if you would like to petition for Maggie's re-entry to the show this August, you can help reinstate her through Tom Allen's website - www.tomindeed.com.
Tom Allen Toughens Up will be at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern on July 27th.
Return to the London Comedy homepage
Add an event
Bigger, better, tons more music: East End Film Festival Q&A
The East End Film Festival has established itself as one of the biggest and brightest film festivals...