Paper Zoo's production of Waiting for Godot at the Yorkshire Craft Centre
The Yorkshire Craft Centre's Bradford Gallery provided an unusual but effective location for Paper Zoo's production of Samuel Becket's Waiting For Godot in September 2006. The play was enthusiastically received and introduced a new audience to this fantastic venue.
Paper Zoo was founded by a select group of Bradford College's former performing arts students and their tutor, Damien O'Keeffe with a brief to champion accessible but challenging theatre. They achieved commercial and critical success with their first professional outing, A Christmas Carol, at the Priestley Centre in December 2005. They continue to attract the cream of performing arts diploma students to audition to join the company when they complete their courses, plus respected visiting artists.
Damien explained: "We are keen to stage productions in non-traditional theatre spaces and the Yorkshire Craft Centre Gallery was excellent. It was almost like being in an installation as the set was so minimal, just a tree and a pile of pallets. It was a wonderful experience to play there and we hope to make it an annual occurrence. The play is about the fact that life just goes on. We worked on the basis that people are there but just feel invisible and waiting for something to happen, but nothing does. It seems as if life just passes them by and a lot of people feel like that. To set it in an art gallery is an interesting juxtaposition and it is also a great space to inhabit. Another amazing thing about this was that it featured my school drama teacher and now part-time lecturer, Stuart, who inspired me and was responsible for me doing this job."
Waiting For Godot Cast: Vladimir, Damien O'Keeffe; Estragon, Stuart Davies; Pozzo, Ben Eagle; Lucky, Martin Knowles and the boy, David Peel.
Look out for Paper Zoo's return to the Priestley in December 2006. Their forthcoming production of Twelfth Night, which transplants Shakespeare's comedy to the 1940, promises to be something very special.