The extraordinary true life of Eugene Bullard. This is one of history’s overlooked true stories. This is a name that should be known, a story that must be told. This is a story of hope.

Runaway, circus entertainer, boxer, night club owner, World War One fighter pilot, jazz drummer, spy, civil rights activist – Eugene Bullard’s extraordinary life story traces many of the twentieth century’s most important moments.  

Born in Georgia, USA, and forced to flee the segregation of his homeland, Bullard sought acceptance in Europe during a period of turmoil and social change. He was one of the first black fighter pilots, he worked with Josephine Baker and Duke Ellington, and knew Hemmingway and Picasso. Wounded in World War 2, he then spied against Hitler’s regime, and yet, Bullard ended his days as a lift operator in New York’s Rockefeller Center. 

imitating the dog create an intimate show, bringing their unique story-telling techniques to bear on this forgotten history – a history that forged hope and pride out of discrimination and exclusion. With  inspirational stagecraft, digital wizardry and original live songs, imitating the dog breathes the history of the twentieth century magically into life.  

An imitating the dog production, created by Morgan Bailey, Pete Brooks, Simon Wainwright and Andrew Quick.