Perfect Worlds, part of Croydon Loves You 2025

Back in September we began our Perfect Worlds programme supported by Croydon Council as part of Croydon Loves You 2025 - taking Zoo Co’s practice, improvisation skills and open space principles into three care homes across Croydon in 2025. 

On the 18th of December we're rounding up the project with our final sharing at the third care home, where we are diving in on the set of Baywatch, bringing to life super heros and reporting a very important mission with not one, not two, but three 007 agents. All at the will of our guest directors.

Below is a reflection on working with the first set of participants in this programme:

In September we had the privilege of being welcomed into the Params care home in Croydon. 

Params is a residential care home for learning disabled adults, some of whom have lived there for over 35 years. Far from being stuck in their ways, when we arrived they welcomed us with energy and flexibility. 

Perfect Worlds, much like Perfect Show For Rachel, sets out to put learning disabled directors up front as our leaders and empower them to live direct a show that is perfect for them. It is no simple task for the team therefore, to go into new groups with minimal prior knowledge of the participants, and quickly ascertain enough about their lives, likes and dislikes to create a show. For this reason, we started each day with an interview with our director. 

At Params we worked with a different resident-turned-director each day, until the final amalgamating performance. 

We may not have been on a film set but that didn’t mean that the director didn’t have their own, special ‘director’-labelled chair set up for them. Sat at the head of the room and with the focus on them, the interview aimed to glean stories of their youth, past adventures, favourite music, good friends and important routines. The ‘interview’ in this setting looked like many things, with the communication/approach differing with each person, but each interview had the common aim of connecting with the director. 

Supported by the facilitating team - the brilliant Maddie (Params’ Activities Lead) and Zoo Co facilitators (Fleur, Flo, Hannah, Tom and Ruth) - the residents began to tell us about their lives with panache, with the communication available to them. From that information the facilitating team used their devising and improvising experience, alongside music, costume and props to begin to build scenes from these stories. They came to life, often with the help of other enthusiastic residents as actors, always checking in with the director as they co-created the important moment being investigated.

By the end of the week, they were ready to share their worlds. Staff and family members, wider Zoo Co team, guests from Croydon Council and the Arts Council crammed into the converted attic-come-activities-room for a hilarious and touching sharing of work.

The audience crammed into the activity room, listening to the director's song.

We saw a trip to the local charity shop to buy up a Crystal Palace football jacket, a memory from earlier in the year, that had been carefully put aside by the charity shop staff for an avid Palace supporter.

We heard an original song about grief and meeting new family members - one participant had recently lost an important family member, only to at the funeral discover a whole new side of the family he hadn’t known before, who instantly became a source of love and joy.

We saw a contestant on Deal or No Deal enter into some spicy negotiations with the Banker, played by Maddie in a moustache much to the residents' amusement, and triumphantly hit the jackpot.

Perhaps our favourite piece was directed by John, who communicates largely non-verbally or with a few select words. Flo explained ‘we’re all going to look at John, and take our cues from him - he’s in charge - we’ll sing back to him anything he might want to say. I will warn you - Johnny’s got a bit of a potty mouth…’. Tom started a calm simple tune on an acoustic guitar and we all looked at John. When he vocalised his words were sung back to him in a song which honored his love of ‘chicken pies’ and expressing himself in expletives, ending on the word ‘happy’.

The residents and Maddie (who has an incredibly close bond with each resident) expressed that they ‘felt special’, felt ‘relaxed and cheerful’, worked ‘in her own time and pace’, and were ‘calm and willing - happy to share his feelings’ - what wonderful feelings to approach creating work with.

The residents' thank you card.

After the programme was completed at Params, we welcomed many of the residents and staff to the Perfect Show for Rachel rehearsal room, to witness Rachel directing and to join in as audience members.

It was the last day of rehearsals before we headed off on our UK Tour, and they made the perfect audience for our last practice run.

This programme of Perfect Worlds has been generously supported by Croydon Council. Thanks go to the Croydon Loves You team, the wider council provision and all the residents and staff who have enthusiastically welcomed us into their worlds.

Find out more about the Perfect Worlds model here.