THE Civic Theatre in Darlington has never seen anything quite like it. Almost 50 dogs, and their owners, are packed into the bar area, awaiting their curtain call.

The tension is mounting. There are collies, labradors, mongrels, spaniels, every shape and size of dog, anticipating their moment in the limelight. There's pulling of leads, barking, howling, and sniffing.

My 13-year-old cocker spaniel Bramble - deaf, partially blind and a little arthritic - sits on my feet, wearing his favourite hangdog expression, eyeing up the other canines suspiciously.

I'd picked him up from home, decided he smelt a bit, and there was no time for a bath so he smells strongly of Chanel perfume.

Enter, stage right, Of Mice and Men's producer, Matthew Gale. He's a man on a mission - to find an old, placid dog to play old Candy the farm hand's beloved old hound in his five-night production of the John Steinbeck classic in Darlington. He opened auditions to local dog owners to find the perfect pooch, with no previous acting experience needed.

It all feels a bit X-factor. Or, rather, Rex Factor. Gale takes the Simon Cowell role, allows owners to parade their dogs up and down outside and rejects them, one by one. Although he isn't quite as brutal. People can be pretty sensitive about their dogs.

"I don't want to have dogs that will get distressed so if they are getting too distracted, pulling on the lead or too lively then they're not suitable," he says.

"They are playing an old dog that has come to the end of its life and its an important part of the story. We need a placid dog that the audience will fall in love with."

Some dogs present are the real deal, having never left the farm. Alexandra Ellis, who lives near Barton, Darlington, has brought her collie, Tess, a proper working sheepdog.

"She doesn't do any tricks except rounding up sheep, and riding on the back of the quad bike," she says. "But we'll see how she gets on."

Eventually, Mr Gale chooses ten dogs to take upstairs, away from their owners, for a "test run".

He whittles it down to the last two, Flint, a 12-year-old beautiful scruffy-looking long-haired lurcher, and Lucy, a 13-year-old old collie, who is wearing a stars and stripes neckerchief.

It's a difficult choice, but he settles on Flint. "I like the fact he is quite unusual," he says.

Doner kebab-loving Flint lives with Caroline North, of Killerby, near Ingleton, who brought him along after seeing a piece in The Northern Echo.

"I'm really pleased. He is super and he's done really well," she says. "I didn't know whether to brush him or not before I came but I'm glad I didn't because I think he looked the part."

As for Bramble?

"Too young and lively," says Mr Gale. We'll take that, Bramble. He might be 90 in dog years, but he's still got it.

* Of Mice and Men is at Darlington Civic Theatre from Tuesday 15 to Saturday 19 March, with Thursday and Saturday matinees. To book contact (01325) 486555 or visit www.darlingtoncivic.co.uk

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