Almost Human

Written by Robert Rigby, it is a play that follows the story of 'Tarzan', a chimpanzee captured in the wild and then passed from a circus to a zoo to an advertising agency and finally to a laboratory as his temporary usefulness to his human owners disappears.

In 1997, Lynx commissioned and produced ‘Almost Human’.  Written by Robert Rigby, it is a play that follows the story of 'Tarzan', a chimpanzee captured in the wild and then passed from a circus to a zoo to an advertising agency and finally to a laboratory as his temporary usefulness to his human owners disappears. A riveting and dynamic piece of physical theatre, it combines humour and pathos and embraces all aspects of animal welfare, as well as human attitudes towards animals and the preservation of habitat. This production was revived in 2002, when it had a 3-week run at the Edinburgh Fringe.  This gave adult audiences a chance to see it.  It then toured high schools nationwide for 3-months.

Almost Human illustration by Lo Cole