Lily Bevan brings her critically acclaimed two-hander Zoo to Vault Festival 2020. Zoo is a touching story of an enduring friendship between two women. Directed by Hamish MacDougall, the play takes us through tragedy, courage, bats, flamingoes and the need to escape.
It brings together two unlikely friends that appear to have nothing in common other than their love of animals. The play demonstrates through a series of flashbacks what brought these two funny yet complex women together.
We hear through flashbacks that they first met at a zoologist conference in England.
The bubbly American Bonnie devotes her life to working at the ‘Cherokee Valley Zoo and Conservation Centre’. Her best friend Carol lives in North Yorkshire, and works with bats.
We first meet Bonnie as she is rounding up the animals to protect them from a Hurricane and talking to CNN. It is clear Bonnie loves these animals and struggles more in her relationship with humans. Often she makes bad decisions with men, like drinking too much margaritas and going home with the notorious Ian Butterwick.
Similarly Carol has her own problems with men, her dodgey ex husband and a son that she barely speaks to. She also has to deal with meddling local caving groups and is not too fond of the South Yorkshire bat group.
Through her friendship with Bonnie, Carol learns to overcome her personal challenges.
There is a lot to unpack in this ambitious script in 60 minutes but it is an entertaining and touching story played beautifully by Lorna Beckett and Lily Bevan.
Zoo runs from Tuesday 25th February to Sunday 1st March at the Vault Festival.
