Perfect show for Rachel

by Zoo Co Theatre and Improbable

Short & sweet

Rachel is a theatre-loving, enigmatic, learning-disabled 33 year-old who loves Kylie, heckling her sister, and seeing people falling over. At the touch of a button she commands the action, each scene brought to life by a skilled cast ready for whatever she asks of them. From bar room brawls to a bourbon biscuit cabaret - get ready, this is Rachel’s "perfect show".

Still curious?

Perfect show For Rachel is a “joyous celebration of theatre without the rules” (red. The Stage) combining physical theatre, live music, family memories, slapstick comedy and fart jokes in a chaotic, moving and triumphant tapestry.

Step into Rachel’s unique, often hilarious world in this critically acclaimed show.

“A disarming labour of love” in The Times.

Perfect show for Rachel was developed with Rachel, to create a show on her own terms. It explores who defines artistic taste, and questions who that currently excludes. Created by Zoo Co Theatre, a multi award-winning company creating theatre that loudly champions access. Zoo Co won the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award in 2022.

Created in collaboration with Improbable, a pioneering company of improvisers and theatre-makers who have been making ground-breaking work for the past 25 years. Proud winners of Producer of the Year at The Stage Awards 2023.

Spilleperiode
21. - 22. maj 2025

Scene Aarhus Teater

Varighed 70 min.

TIME

Wednesday, the 21st at 20.00

Thursday, the 22nd at 20.00

PRICE 170-275 DKR

AGE 14+

LANGUAGE English

TRIGGER WARNINGS Please note: flashing lights may be used during this performance.

ACCESS All performances include a mixture of creative captioning, live captioning and integrated British Sign Language (BSL) meaning it will be accessible for English-speaking and BSL-signing deaf and Hard of Hearing audiences. Due to the improvised nature of some parts of the show, some scenes may just have creative captions or integrated BSL.

All performances will be relaxed.

What is a Relaxed performance?

Relaxed Performances simply mean that the usual, very strict and uptight rules of being in a theatre audience are relaxed.

That means that if you need to stand up, sit down, wriggle around, make some noise, respond however is natural for you, do some knitting, leave and come back (or not if the show is really rubbish) that is totally fine. The show will carry on as normal, and you won’t be picked on. We do ask that your phones are switched off and no photos, though.

We invite you to really embrace the Relaxed setting, and relieve yourselves of the burden of shushing fellow audience members, just for one evening. We do this because we think theatre should be as accessible as possible, to as many people as possible, and that it’s better when everyone is invited.

Who is Rachel?

"Why can’t more theatre be like this? Open, relaxed, fun and full of love"

The Guardian

The version that I got to enjoy was playful, jubilant and, at times, incredibly intimate"

Broadway World

"..a 70-minute show that spreads its message of inclusivity with disarming skill and spirit. It's not just for Rachel"

The Times

#insight #inclusion #unique #theater #surprise

PERFECT SHOW FOR RACHEL: Inside the rehearsals

"The production demonstrates that placing access and inclusion at the heart of a work’s dramaturgy, rather than adding it later in the production process, is not detrimental to its quality. In fact, it’s the opposite. With suitable access provisions and structures in place to support them, disabled people can make outstanding art that is poignant, joyful and celebratory"

The Play's The Thing UK

The people behind

CREATIVE TEAM

Director: Rachel O'Mahony

Artistic Director of Zoo Co and performer: Flo O'Mahony

Creative Access Director and performer: Fleur Rooth

Improbable Co-Artistic Director and performer: Lee Simpson

Set and Costume Designer: Stella Backman

Lighting and Video Designer: Rachel Sampley

Assistant Lighting and Video Designer: Han Sayles

Originating Musical Director: Mark Aspinall

Musical Director and performer: Joshua Goodman

Originating Sound Designer: Nick Gilbert

Sound Designer: Hattie North

Choreographer: Sim Campbell

Fight Director: Esme Cooper

Dramaturg: Sophie Woolley

International Creative Consultant: Maria Laumark

CAST

Performer and Main Carer for Rachel: Wendy O'Mahony

Performer: Becky Barry

Performer: Folarin Akinmade

Performer: Sara Dawood

Performer: Stephen Collins

Performer: Gabriel Akamo

PRODUCTION TEAM

Production Manager: Chloe Stally-Gibson

Stage Manager: Fana Sunley Smith

ACCESS TEAM

Access Coordinator: Hannah Skaili

Live Scribe: Austin Yang

Second Carer: Jackson Used

BSL Interpreter: Hahna Ahmed

Produced by Zoo Co and Improbable

The performance is supported by Spar Nord Fonden and Hoffmann og Husmans Fond.