Zoology
When Talya Rubin was little she would tell adults she wanted to be “a ballerina and a gorilla,” when she grew up.
Zoology is a performance lecture and dance work for one woman and two children that attempts to live up to that childhood dream. Zoology was inspired by slides found in a New York City antique shop of zoo animals in vibrant 1980s Ektachrome colours.
In the work, the animals tell their wordless story of extinction through movement that has absurdity and poignancy at its core.
There is a dream-like lecture at the centre of Zoology. It riffs on zoos, panda diplomacy, The Wizard of Oz, extinction, and Talya’s own childhood.
Presented by Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts and set inside WA Museum Boola Bardip, Zoology provokes a deep, visceral re-connection with our inner wildness and invites us to sit in the unresolved spaces of the current extinction crisis.
Artistic Team
Talya Rubin – Writer / Performer / Co-devisor/Visual Concept
Nick James – Director / Co-devisor
Laura Heffernan – Costume & Set DesignerGiorgos Poulios – Sound Designer
Katie Sfetkidis – Lighting Designer
Natalie Allen – Movement Consultant
Emma Valente - Dramaturg
Samuel James – Slide & Projection Design
Tiyan Baker – Video Editor
Erin Coates – Props Maker
Alison Halit – Executive Producer APAM
Jodi Donovan – Associate Producer
Will Gammel – Production Manager
Jasmyn Day - Stage Manager
Premiere
APAM Showcase - WA Museum Boola Bardip, Perth - 25th - 27th February
Presentation
Presented in association with the WA Museum Boola Bardip and the Australian Performing Arts Market. Supported by PICA’s Art Commissioners.
Partners
Development partners include: Performance Space, Sydney; PICA, Perth; Vitalstatistix, Adelaide; Bundanon, Illaroo; Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne; and the University of Sydney.
Support
This project was supported through a residency at Theatre and Performance Studies, The University of Sydney. Proudly supported by the WA government.