Cries from the Mammal House

Synopsis

A decrepit English zoo, where the stench of animal waste mingles with the musty odour of fading colonial dreams.

Tom, a world-weary zoo veterinarian, finds himself thrust into an awkward reunion with his estranged brother Ben, a globe-trotting conservationist with a saviour complex. As they gather for their father’s funeral, the brothers circle each other warily, their childhood rivalries bubbling to the surface amidst the squawks and roars of neglected animals. Tom, chained to the family’s failing menagerie, bristles at Ben’s tales of adventure and impending mission to save a rare Mauritian bird from extinction.

Terry Johnson’s Cries from the Mammal House is a biting satire that uses the microcosm of a dilapidated zoo to dissect the lingering spectre of British colonialism. Sharp, staccato dialogue crackles with tension as the brothers’ forced civility gives way to raw, often hilarious confrontations. The play’s structure, swiftly shifting from the claustrophobic English zoo to the supposed paradise of Mauritius, mirrors the disorienting legacy of empire. Johnson deftly weaves moments of absurdist humour with piercing insights, forcing us to question the line between conservation and exploitation, both of animals and entire nations. As Tom and Ben grapple with their inheritance – both literal and metaphorical – we’re left to ponder the cages we build for ourselves and others in the name of progress.