THE king of the jungle stars in Side Pony Productions' latest stage play The Pride but don't be fooled by the funny costumes - this is no kids show.
Directed and produced by Trigg resident Zoe Pepper, a WA Academy of Performing Arts graduate and former student of the Ecole Philippe Gaulier in Paris, The Pride is a black comedy based on the premise of good people doing terrible things.
The play follows the exploits of Lyon family patriarch Bruce, who struggles with renovations, modern living and competition from his stronger, more handsome neighbour James.
Responsible for recent works Heart of Gold and The Manic Pony, Pepper has been directing under Side Pony since 2004.
She said the underlying premise was to create a show modelled on the social structure of lions.
“I was interested in the animal because of its aesthetic and prestigious nature,” she said.
“The lion is the only animal in the big cat family that exists within a heavily structured family unit.”
Pepper said she wanted to make something moving and tragic using surreal costumes.
“I wanted to do a show which looks silly but the subject matter is far darker and tragic than the aesthetic,” she said.
The finished work was written together with performers Brendan Ewing, Adriane Daff and Russell Leonard, primarily through improvisation during the five-week rehearsal process.
“The real challenge has been to create characters that people could emphasise with,” she said.
“It's more about the pride takeover and how to keep the audience on side, despite the violence.
“It's about why people forgive, whether the hastiness is about restoring social structure and norms.”
Pepper said the play treads the line of comedy and tragedy carefully.
“It's pretty funny, definitely a dark comedy and slightly surreal,” she said.
“Esther Sandler's costumes are stunning and innovative.”
The Pride is on at The Blue Room Theatre, Northbridge, from August 31 to September 18, before travelling to Queensland for the Brisbane Fringe Festival at the end of September.