Review: LONDON ZOO, Southwark Playhouse (Borough)
London Zoo is set at the turn of the century, but this interrogation of a boardroom of power could easily take place in 2024, especially when viewed less than a week after International Women's Day.
The treatment of women in the workplace is not the only issue Farine Clarke tackles in this bold piece of theatre. Prejudice, racism and inequality are rife as the board members of a fictitious newspaper group UK National News Group navigate the acquisition of a smaller more successful paper, The Daily Word. As the new millennium dawns director Arabella (Natalie Lauren) and accountant Charles (Simon Furness) hope the merger will be the key to success in a world where electronic media is on the rise.
Written and directed by Farine Clarke, London Zoo is not afraid to be outrageous, questioning and punchy. Performed by a wonderful ensemble cast, political correctness is not on the agenda as we meet a group of people whose middle name could be manipulation. Harris Vaughan is despicably smarmy as Christian, Dan Saski is bullish and brass as American CEO Alex and Anirban Roy is pernicious as the prejudiced Sunil. All three are blind to their misogyny in contrast to ‘ambitious for a woman’ Arabella who has made it her mission to stand up for herself in the ruthless world in which Simon Furness’ charming Charles is struggling to stay afloat.
Unlike their characters, cohesion is clear amongst the cast who are united to tell a scarily relevant story. It is lovely to read in the programme that the majority of this cast have performed in earlier iterations of the play. The cast deliver intelligent performances to match the nuance of the play. This is demonstrated by the racism we witness which is not simply black and white. Publisher Kelvin (Odimegwu Okoye) is no stranger to racism but at the hands of Asian board member Sunil it is unexpected. Okoye delivers a powerful performance in the first act, he has a commanding presence that makes you stop and listen bolstered by the strength of Natalie Lauren as Arabella.
London Zoo has an abundance of dark humour and the occasional piece of shocking language which retains its impact due to the surprisingly lack of swear words. However, we can’t help but feel that the play could have gone further and with a greater scene of urgency that the writing deserves. At times the direction feels repetitive and there are protracted scene changes that disrupt the action. Chuma Emembolu’s design eases the breaks as coloured strip lighting flashes accompanied by a ticking clock but there is overall a lack of pace. London Zoo is very lopsided as the second act is only 30 minutes in length. We can feel the tension building throughout the play but the eventual climax is wrapped up in a matter of minutes. London Zoo takes a stab at doing something different and the conclusion is surprising but not necessarily for the right reasons. The twist is certainly shocking but it jars with the otherwise measured and thoughtful content of the rest of the play which in contrast is almost too naturalist at times.
London Zoo may fail to fully pack a punch but it is certainly a play that will spark a conversation.
*** Three Stars
Reviewed by Sophie Luck
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