The Zoo story is Edward Albee’s first play and was written in 1958 when Albee was just 30 years old. It tells the tale of two men, Peter and Jerry, meeting in Central Park. Peter is a typical family man, father of two girls and works in publishing. He is reading on a park bench when Jerry approaches him. Over the course of the play, the story moves from pleasantries and the trivial facts of their lives to a darker, more sinister territory.

This play was written three years before ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ and you can see the seeds of that tale in this one, as you are often left on uncertain ground, wondering what the truth actually is. We slowly begin to realise that all is not as it seems and that Jerry is not the most reliable individual.

While this play is a two hander, Jerry is the main character and it is very much his story. Clide Delaney does a fine job of creating this complex individual and at times is wonderfully intense in his portrayal of this damaged man. Marcos Isla play Peter as the straight man, and he slowly begins to realise this is a conversation he never should have partaken in. This is not one of Albee’s better known pieces but it gives an insight into the themes and ideas he would explore throughout his career. This is an interesting work with Delaney’s fine performance at its core.

Duration – 1 hour.

Directed By – David Butler
Starring – Clide Delaney, Marcos Isla

29th July – 9th August @ 8pm in The Boys’ Schoo, Smock Alley