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THE ZOO STORY 2022
Date of Creation
2023/8
Type/Medium
Puppetry/Object Theater
Position
Writer | Director | Set & Puppet Designer | Puppeteer & Performer
Location
OnAir Space, Shanghai
The Zoo Story 2022 reimagines Edward Albee’s absurdist play through the lens of post-pandemic Shanghai. Developed from the city’s lockdown experience, the piece takes the form of a tabletop object theatre, where everyday pandemic items—such as medicine boxes, cosmetic bottles, and plastic pipes—are transformed into puppets. Each object is chosen for its symbolic resonance: a box of ibuprofen, once a scarce essential, becomes the park bench the characters fight over, reflecting tension over shared resources.
Combining puppetry and projection, the performance explores three shifting relationships—between Jerry and Peter, between the performer and the puppets, and between the performer and their projected self. These fluid dynamics blur boundaries between manipulation and autonomy, intimacy and control, humor and violence, exposing the fragility of human connection in times of crisis.
