Following a hit run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018 and then Theatre 503 in November 2018, Lily Bevan brings her critically acclaimed two-hander Zoo to Vault Festival 2020. This humorous yet touching tale of tragedy, courage, flamingoes and the need to escape, will run in the festival’s fifth week, from Tuesday 25th February to Sunday 1st March.
Until today the most dangerous event at the zoo was the Tapir’s caesarian section. But when a hurricane heads straight for Miami, zookeeper Bonnie rushes to keep her animals safe. Across the world in the Yorkshire dales – Carol feels the repercussions. And the danger turns out to be deeper and darker than the weather.
Bonnie is busy devoting her life to working at the ‘Cherokee Valley Zoo and Conservation Centre’, Carol (Bonnie’s best friend) lives in North Yorkshire, working with bats. Bonnie loves animals, but she struggles with people and has got caught up in some difficult gender politics at the Zoo. Sometimes our loyalty and commitment make us who we are… sometimes, like Bonnie we drink too many margaritas and go home with notorious zoo lothario, Ian Butterwick.
Carol has her own challenges, her angry ex-husband, her silent son Paul, meddling local caving groups and the South Yorkshire bat group. Bonnie gives Carol the confidence she requires to face a dark day when Paul goes missing in the winding underground caves. Their friendship helps them both surmount immense personal challenges.
What do you do when you’ve always liked animals more than people and suddenly those animals are under threat? How do the decisions we make in a crisis shape our destiny?
Zoo is a play about ‘climate change’ not only in the weather but also in the discussion of the female experience, our relationships to the natural world, and perceptions of a life well lived. This is a story of two complex, funny, awkward women; both in a mire of bosses, exes, hierarchies, both who prefer animals to people, both need to escape.
Zoo is performed by Lorna Beckett and Lily Bevan and is directed by Hamish MacDougall.
Featuring voice performances by Robert Mountford, Mike Wozniak and James Rastall. Sound design by Mike Winship, design by Erica Greenshields, and Lighting design by Tom Clutterbuck.
