Gap Theatre Project 2005 – You Zoo Partners: Yerbury Primary School, Islington Supported by: The Paul Hamlyn Foundation, The Ernest Cook Trust, The Mercers' Company, Arts Council England and Awards for All   Directed by: Leisa Rea and John Retallack Designed by: Lindsay Milne Creative specialists: Chris Thomson (dance, The Place), Mervyn Millar (puppetry), James Keane (Music & Rhythm, Clod Ensemble), Suzy Wilson (Movement, Clod Ensemble) Dates: May 8 – July 16, 2005 When do you start to be you? YOU ZOO transformed Yerbury School into a site-specific theatre installation, inviting audiences to come on a unique journey exploring identity through the eyes of an 11-year-old. What do you need to know? Led by directors Leisa Rea and John Retallack, 60 pupils from Year 6 worked with five ‘gap year’ students on devising their performances, including elements from theatre, dance, puppetry and modern technology in their take on issues surrounding the theme of transition and change. What do you want to be? Together with designer Lyndsay Milne, the children and students created different kinds of art works, such as sculptures, portraits and masks that formed the backdrop of each of the six themed rooms involved in the installation. Audiences were taken through the installation in small groups to enable them to travel through the various spaces and explore the unique worlds created by the children. Are you who other people think you are? YOU ZOO succeeded in exciting both participating pupils as well as audience members - here is a selection of what they had to say afterwards:            "Amazing. Though-provoking, Inventive. Captivating." "To see what these children are capable of is absolutely outstanding!" "It's like an adventure travelling through different scenes - a fantastic piece of drama." "What an amazing project! It was so obvious that the children had enjoyed creating their pieces. I would have loved to have been part of their journey - well done!" "I don't usually enjoy drama. Company of Angels have changed that. Now I really enjoy it." "It was a brave event and shows what young people can do." "What a fantastic range of expression the kids were introduced to - a good way of enabling all children." "Company of Angels has been a thrilling experience, it's great to work with people who remember what it is like to be a child." "Excellent! Great fun for all the participants and the audience." "The things I liked most in YOU ZOO were the art activities and the drama. The drama has given me a big boost - I love YOU ZOO." "Very impressed. Very well staged and produced. Clearly the children were performing material they had created with lots of conviction!" "A thoroughly enjoyable and unexpected experience!"  "I think Company of Angels' YOU ZOO has been a great way to get away from the normal things that go on in a classroom. I really enjoyed performing and working with different people. It's like something I've never done before."             Click here to read the full YouZoo evaluation report. To receive a hard copy of the report and  / or a YouZoo DVD, please contact info@companyofangels.co.uk.