WARNING: LANGUAGE (May not be suitable for young listeners)
Meet Florence O’Mahoney, Artistic Director of the award-winning Zoo Co! 🐾 Flo’s latest show, Perfect Show for Rachel, has wowed audiences (me included!) with its heartfelt storytelling and creative innovation, scooping up an OFFIE Award and the prestigious Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award. 🌟
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🎉 Flo and I dive into:
✨ ZooCo's journey from passionate schoolmates collaborating and making shows on a shoestring, to becoming an NPO.
✨ The magic of creating a perfect show for Rachel (with loads of help from her fabulous families (both real-life and creative)
✨ Why accessibility isn’t just important-it’s transformative.
We also chat about:
🎭 The joy (and chaos!) of working with family.
🎨 Innovative rehearsal techniques inspired by Lee Simpson.
🌱 Finding fresh ideas, new collaborators, and the drive to keep making work.
00:00 Intro & Who is Flo O'Mahoney
02:47 I think I want to run a theatre company
06:43 Beginning to work with deaf/disabled/neurodivergent artists
08:15 Taking your time: the planning/logistics and the magic alchemy that went into making Perfect Show for Rachel
22:51 Redesigning the rehearsal process
24:39 Simplifying Accessibility to match your current capabilities as a company "It doesn't have to be perfect"
33:00 The 'liveness' of theatre. Trusting Rachel as director
39:00 One perfect Hour
41:54 Working with Family and building a new community
49:28 The ZooCo Family -Scrappy Beginnings, commisions, Arts Council Funding to NPO
54:10 Croydon as a hub
57:33 What is an NPO? Does it fix everything?
01:00:00 Being a Charity -the political responsibilities of making Art
01:02:00 What's coming up for ZooCo
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Twitter: @MakeitWorkPodUK
🌟 Connect with Shane Dempsey
Website: shanedempsey.co.uk/
🌟 Connect with Kluane Saunders:
TH-cam: ‪@kluane.saunders‬
Insta: @kluane.saunders
Twitter: @KluaneSaunders
MUSIC:
Gravy- composed by Podington Bear
Available on FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE
freemusicarchive.org/