A parrot says ‘I love you’. A dolphin tries to speak. A woman spends a lifetime trying to understand.
Newly announced National Theatre of Scotland Company in Residence SUPERFAN set off on tour from 4 April – 1 May 2020 with Like Animals: a funny and poignant look at love and communication in human (and not so human) relationships.
Directed by Herald Angel Award winner Ellie Dubois (No Show) and inspired by true accounts of research scientists working to communicate with animals, Like Animals weaves stories of human-animal communication around an exploration into the real-life relationship of performers Kim Donohoe and Pete Lannon.
Every night, Alex the parrot and Irene the scientist bid one another farewell with ‘be good, see you tomorrow, I love you.’ As time marches on and their relationship deepens, Alex begins to use the language he has learned from Irene to manipulate her. Peter the dolphin lives in a flooded house with Margaret, who is teaching him English. Working together in a bizarre NASA-funded experiment, their relationship garners unwelcome attention in the press with headlines such as ‘The Woman who lived in sin with a dolphin’ (The Telegraph, June 2014). Delving into the research, Kim and Pete tell these stories with only a paddling pool and a couple of wetsuits.
MJ McCarthy’s delicate score and Rachel O’Neill’s surreal, contemporary design draws audiences into the joy and heartbreak of trying, and sometimes failing, to understand another being.
Like Animals has been developed in association with Tron CREATIVE through their Scratch and Tron Lab opportunities, and with support from Creative Scotland’s Open Project Fund.
SUPERFAN is a new Scottish performance company who create performances for adult and young audiences that blend theatre, live art, circus and dance. SUPERFAN won the 2019 Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award.
SHORTLIST – BEST THEATRE PRODUCTION, BROADWAY WORLD EDINBURGH FESTIVAL AWARDS 2019
“A quirky, thought-provoking two-hander” ★★★★ – The Telegraph
“Cleverly and deliberately entertaining …a production that asks chewy questions” ★★★★ – Herald Scotland
“Communication between animals may be important on a scientific level, but good communication with the ones you love is essential” ★★★★ – The Wee Review
“At a moment when we urgently need to reassess our relationship with the natural world, an exploration of human-animal connections feels timely” – Recommended Show 2019, The Guardian
“…Original and beautifully staged” – Fest Magazine
Like Animals by Superfan – Scottish tour: 4 April – 1 May 2020
Saturday 4 April – Mull Theatre, Mull
Tuesday 7 April – The Pagoda, Grantown-on-Spey
Thursday 9 April – Lyth Arts, Wick
Friday 10 April – Gable End, Orkney
Wednesday 15 April – Summerhall, Edinburgh
Thursday 16 April – East Kilbride Arts Centre, East Kilbride
Friday 17 April – Paisley Arts Centre, Paisley
Sunday 19 April – Dunoon Burgh Hall, Dunoon
Tuesday 21 April – Tayvallich Village Hall, Tayvallich, Argyll
Thursday 23 April – The Barn, Banchory
Friday 24 April – MacRobert, Stirling
Saturday 25 April – The Byre, St Andrews
Monday 27 April – Platform Theatre, Glasgow
Thursday 30 April – MacArts, Galashiels
Friday 1 May – The Maltings, Berwick-upon-Tweed
